A Fairy and a Kitty Cat and a Salamander and a Popsicle
by inizhay
Summary: During the GMG, Lucy somehow finds herself involved in a love square she didn't ask for. But when the games end, she and everyone else have to deal with something a lot darker and more complicated than her love life. Sticy, Graylu, (mostly one-sided) Nalu.
1. Prologue: Face in the Crowd

Fairy Tail had arrived in force the day before the Grand Magic Games were to start. Everyone split off to explore Crocus, and as usual, Lucy ended up with Natsu. Also as usual, the two became separated. Lucy swore she'd only stopped for a moment to look into a bookstore, but when she emerged back into the flower-strewn streets, there was no sign of her pyro teammate or the annoying blue cat.

She spent the rest of the day wandering around on her own. She hadn't realized how huge the city was, but judging from the fact that she didn't encounter a single guildmate for the rest of the day, clearly it was enormous.

Lucy started looking for the guild's inn as the daylight mellowed to a golden glow. She turned onto a wide avenue before jumping back in fright as she was nearly crushed by a stampede of girls screaming incoherently. She decided to go the opposite way down the avenue even though it was the opposite direction from the inn. At least, she thought it was. To be honest, she had spent so much time wandering aimlessly that she wasn't even sure what part of the city she was in anymore. She idly glanced back at the mob, wondering what had garnered such attention.

'Hopefully it's not another charm spell like that fake Salamander in Hargeon,' she thought. Despite the odious man who had used the spell, the memory made her smile as she thought of her first meeting with Natsu and joining the guild so many years ago.

Actually, come to think of it, the man in the middle of the swarm of girls kind of reminded her of Natsu. Except he was blond and for some reason he was wearing a crop top. She grimaced at the odd choice of clothing, though she had to admit the abs left bare were kind of worth showing off. The mob moved again to block her view. Lucy shook her head to clear the image before heading in the opposite direction.

She finally found the inn by following the sound of Natsu yelling something about 'stupid morons' and 'we'll show them!'

Natsu and Gray were lounging in front of the inn. Well, Gray was lounging. Natsu was rampaging. With anyone else, it would have been pacing, but Natsu didn't have the restraint to do something as calm as pace when agitated.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Lucy asked.

"Flame Brain ran into some competitors in the city and in his typical moronic fashion, he's letting them get to him," Gray said with a smirk.

"They are not getting to me!" Natsu said. He stamped his foot. "I just can't believe how little people think of Fairy Tail. I'm all fired up to show them just how awesome our guild still is. No one can keep a fairy down! I'm going to give anyone who says otherwise a meticulous beating."

"Do you know what meticulous means?" Gray asked.

"Do you want to go, Popsicle?"

"Bring it, Pyro!"

Lucy watched as the two butted heads. Their auras swirled around them dangerously. Normally Lucy would try to calm them down or get Erza to knock them out, but she realized what Gray was doing. Natsu was obviously upset, and a fight with Gray might just calm him down enough for him to forget what had sparked his anger in the first place. Leaving them to it, Lucy entered the inn.

"Lucy!" Cana exclaimed as she wrapped an arm around the blonde. "It's time to celebrate our eminent victory! Come drink with me."

"It might be a little early for celebrating. We don't even know who we're up against, and the games don't start until tomorrow," Lucy said as she pulled away. But she said it with a smile.

"Like there's anyone in Fiore who could beat us," Cana replied. "Come on, we'll get a bunch of the others together and play a game."

 **A/N: Hello! I hope this first chapter whets your appetite. I have most of this story written already, so updates should be super quick, though I'm also open to new ideas to include. After all, community interaction is one of my favorite things about this site. That said, final pairing (which is still undecided) will only be determined by me, though again I welcome input on that.**

 **This story grew out of my love for crack pairings and it was inspired by the song 'F*ck You Betta' by Mister Chase. Specifically a Sticy vs Nalu/Graylu video using the song. Just search "Sting x Lucy" and the song title to find it. It's quite well done, so I recommend checking it out if you're into that kind of thing.**

 **Anyway, next chapter will be the actual game.**


	2. Chapter 1: Brandy, You're a Fine Girl

**A/N: This is my attempt at humor. And it's the catalyst for the rest of the story. Review please!**

"Alright, the rules are simple," Cana said. She laid her deck face down in two piles on the table in the middle of everyone and took a quick glance around to make sure everyone had an alcoholic beverage and a shot glass close at hand. "The cards on the left are instructions. The cards on the right are people. You have to do the instructions on the card to or with the person on the other card. Failure to do so results in a shot."

Everyone nodded. Lucy was impressed that Cana had managed to wrangle ten of their guildmates into this little game.

"I'll go first." Cana drew a card from each pile and grinned. She leaned into Gray on her right and whispered in his ear. Gray shied away from her before turning bright red.

"Okay, so what was that?" Lucy asked.

"I had to tell Gray something that would make him blush."

"So what'd you say?" Mira encouraged her. Cana opened her mouth to respond, but Gray slapped a hand over her face and answered for her.

"That's not important, and now that I know why she said it I doubt that it's even true!" He exclaimed. His face was still the color of Natsu's hair. Before anyone could push the issue he grabbed two cards and declared it was his turn.

"Well, that's not so bad," Gray said. "I just have to do an impression of Gajeel."

The iron dragon slayer narrowed his eyes as Gray stood up and created a good replica of Gajeel's iron club out of ice.

"Iron Dragon Club! Argh, check it out, I'm Black Steel Gajeel, and I can kick all your asses. With my tough exceed friend at my side. Now where's somebody for me to stomp. Gihi."

He sat back down. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes.

"What? The card didn't say it had to be a good impression," he said with a shrug.

"I think you got the laugh down, though," Pantherlily said from the table behind Gajeel. Everyone giggled at that and even Gajeel gave an amused snort.

"Gajeel, you're up next," Cana said.

He drew two cards and let out his signature laugh. "Alright, Bunny-Girl, looks like you and me are having a shots race. Three shots each. Loser has to discard their shirt."

"There's no way it says that!" Lucy squealed as she yanked the instruction card out of his hand to verify. "Cana, what the hell? Shouldn't the punishment only go to the person who drew the card?"

"My game, my rules, Lucy," Cana said with a laugh.

"Gihi, what's wrong, Bunny? Afraid you'll lose?"

"Bring it on, Iron Breath. I drink with Cana all the time, there's no way you're going to beat me. Pour 'em out."

A few minutes later, Lucy was hesitantly removing her shirt and being extremely thankful that she hadn't chosen a sheer bra that morning. Suddenly the rest of the guild was much more interested in the game happening off to the side of the bar. Lucy drew two cards. Levy's face winked at her from the card in her right hand, and Lucy smiled. Surely something with Levy couldn't turn out too terribly?

Then she read the instructions and her eyes widened. Nope. Not doing that. Lucy threw both cards face down and poured a shot.

"Next." Lucy said.

"Giving up already? That's so lame, Lucy," Cana said.

"It's not for my pride. I'm protecting a friend here. I can't help it that your cards are sadistic, and no I'm not letting you see what it said. Next person."

"Well at least who was the person card so they can go next?"

"Levy," Lucy said. The bookworm blinked slowly before smiling widely at her best friend.

"I'm not sure what you just saved me from, but thanks, Lu!" Levy said as she grabbed her cards. "Um, I thought that the person cards would only be people who are playing the game?"

"I thought it'd be more fun to include the rest of the guild. Who'd you get?" Cana asked.

"Master. Um… Okay. I'll be right back." Levy stood and walked over to Makarov who had seated himself on the bar as if they were in the guildhall. She whispered something to him as the group watched excitedly. He finally nodded, and she pulled out her pen.

"Solid Script: Waterfall."

The guild gasped as a unit before the group playing the game began falling around laughing uncontrollably. The rest of their guild members relaxed as they realized what had happened. Master didn't even look upset. He just gave Levy a wink and asked the bartender for a towel.

"So how does it work for choosing the next person to go since Master isn't playing?" Levy asked as she retook her seat.

"You get to pick," Cana replied.

"Okay, then it's Mira's turn."

Mira pulled her cards and blushed faintly. She stood up, leaving her cards on the table so the others could see them as she made her way to the Thunder Legion. Or at least, 3/4 of them as Bixslow was also playing the game. She stopped in front of Freed and took his hand before dropping to one knee and holding her other arm out to the air. At which point she began to serenade him.

Freed's face turned bright red, but no one really noticed as Mira's beautiful voice drifted through the bar making everyone stop just to listen. When she finished singing, she smiled at him brightly and walked back to the table. Lucy giggled at how poor Freed looked even more flustered than the time Cana used her cards to throw bikini babes at him during the S-Class trials.

"I choose Elfman for the next round," Mira said.

"Being next is manly," Elfman grunted. His face fell as he saw his cards. "But this game is not manly."

The giant sighed and leaned across the table to grab Bixslow by the back of the head.

"I'm sorry, man, but backing out just isn't manly." With that, he lifted Bixslow's visor slightly and slanted his mouth across that of the seith mage. Someone on the other side of the guild started choking violently, and Lucy glanced up to see Laxus struggling to remember how to breathe as Freed patted his back too lightly to actually be helpful. Elfman suddenly jerked back in his chair and took a long swig of his beer. Bixslow fell back, as well, but he just laughed hysterically as his babies swirled around him tittering.

"I beat you to it, Evergreen!" He shouted across the hall. Evergreen's eyebrow twitched dangerously as her hand nearly snapped her fan in two.

"As if I'd want to kiss that brute in the first place!" She said with as much poise as she could muster, which to be honest, wasn't much.

Bixslow drew his cards as he continued to giggle to himself.

"Alright!" He exclaimed. Bixslow turned to the takeover mage beside him. "Lisanna, may I have this dance?"

"Of course, Bix," she said. He took her hand as his babies began humming something that sounded like a house version of a waltz. After a few minutes the two returned to the table and Lisanna drew two cards.

"Pantherlily, can you turn into your battleform for me?"

"Sure thing, Lisanna," he said. He hopped off the bench and instantly towered over the tiny girl. "What's up?"

"Well, I'm going to hit you," she said sheepishly. "I just couldn't do it when you were tiny. I don't want to hurt you."

"I understand." He nodded for her to proceed. A tiny fist flew into his chest, and Lily didn't even flinch. He smiled at Lisanna and shrank back to his smaller size. "I appreciate you going easy on me, you didn't have to."

"I actually wasn't; I just can't hit very hard," Lisanna replied.

"Would you like me to train you in hand-to-hand combat? I've been working with Levy and she's improved immensely in a short amount of time. I'd be happy to help you out, too."

"Really? Oh that would be wonderful, Lily!" She scooped him into a hug before returning to the table.

"Man, I was really hoping one of the guys would get that card," Cana said.

"It's probably best that they didn't. What if they had drawn Natsu's card? The game would have been ruined with that pyro starting a brawl and destroying everything," Lucy huffed.

"Lucy's right. Anyway, since Erza's the only one who hasn't gone yet, I guess it's her turn," Lisanna said.

"Very well, I accept the challenge."

"There seriously hasn't been enough drinking going on in this game," Cana muttered.

"What are you talking about? I've taken four shots already, and you've gone through two barrels!" Lucy said.

"Enough. The drinking will recommence now," Erza said. She pointed a sword at Gray. "Let's see who can drink the most in five minutes, Gray Fullbuster."

"What happens to the loser?" He asked warily.

"The loser must face their greatest rival and proclaim that they are no match for the rival's power."

"Well it's a good thing I'm not losing, then," Gray said. He smirked at the redhead who began grabbing bottles of beer and clustering them on the table.

"Ready? Begin!" Cana yelled.

Only a few bottles remained on the table when the card mage called time. Gray barely managed to sneak a win with one more empty bottle than Erza.

"Very well. I accept defeat." She turned to Mira on her left and bowed over her hands. "Mira, I am not a worthy rival for you. Your powers truly exceed my own."

"That might have been true a few years ago, Erza, but it certainly isn't now. I can't believe that you still see me as your greatest rival after all this time."

"You remain one of the only wizards that I have never truly defeated. My strength is only as great as it is because I had you to push me to my limits when we were young. I will always treasure those battles." Erza turned back to the group, "And now I believe it is Gray's turn again."

The game continued for several more rounds. Lucy had to spank Gajeel, and she cursed him vehemently because she was sure he activated his iron dragon scales on his butt cheeks just before she swung. Gray wrapped her hand in a thin layer of ice to dull the pain. Erza had to enact a scene from her favorite book with Laxus, which got more than a little awkward. Elfman had to let Mira tickle him for five minutes straight. Cana won a five-shot drinking contest against Levy who had turned a beautiful shade of pink and began leaning heavily on Gajeel when she finished. Bixslow had to hold Erza on his shoulders and quote nursery rhymes. Lisanna had a beer chugging contest with Max. Erza had to let Warren read and reveal one of her secrets to the guild (She couldn't decide if she loved cake or Jellal more. No one was surprised.)

Even without the drinking competitions, the players were finding themselves constantly drinking whatever was on hand to hide embarrassment or give a boost of courage. No one turned down a card's instructions after Lucy's initial turn, though.

Finally, the game wound back to Lucy. Gray had to pass a swallow of whiskey to her by mouth. A shriek that sounded an awful lot like "Love rival!" echoed through the guild. Lucy was already pretty toasted at this point. Besides, it's not like she and Gray had never locked lips before. Not that the rest of the guild knew that. Juvia certainly didn't or Lucy would have drowned a long time ago. She fervently hoped that the rain woman would realize this was all for the sake of the game and not come after her later.

Lucy felt his firm lips press against hers just before the burn of the liquor invaded her mouth. Gray breathed a bit of cool air after the liquid to help her keep from gagging at the harshness. He really did know her very well.

Everything seemed a little blurred around the edges as Lucy drew two cards from the nearly depleted piles. She studied them much more closely than she had earlier in the night. Natsu. Strange that it took so long for his card to pop up. Most people in the guild seemed to have multiple cards in the deck, but no one had drawn a Natsu card, yet. Lucy turned her attention to the instruction card. She climbed unsteadily to her feet and made her way to her partner.

"Hey, Luce, what's up?" Natsu asked. He barely looked up from his mountain of food.

"Well, we're playing this- this game. And I hafta tell you something." Lucy felt her words trying to merge and she shook her head a little. This did not help.

"What's that?" Natsu actually looked at her this time. This also did not help.

"Well, it says that I have to tell you who I'm in love with. So, I'm going to tell you." She leaned down to his ear so no one else could hear. At least she hoped they couldn't. The last bits of her sober thoughts didn't want anyone else to know this just yet.

"So who are you in love with?" Natsu whispered. His warm breath ghosted over her neck, and she shivered. Now or never.

"You."

She blushed furiously and pulled back enough to see his face. He just blinked at her stupidly. Her heart stuttered in her chest. Shit. What had she just said? Was she really drunk enough to follow the stupid instructions on the stupid card instead of just taking another stupid shot?

Not waiting any longer for a reaction, Lucy mumbled something about needing some air and rushed out of the bar.


	3. Chapter 2: Kiss Me in the Dark

Lucy stumbled out of the bar at the inn without caring where her feet took her. Her face still felt like it was going to spontaneously combust. What a stupid game. She should have lied. She should have said she wasn't in love with anyone. She shouldn't have let Cana coax so many drinks into her.

With that last thought, Lucy realized just how gone she already was. She fell against a nearby wall. It felt good to lean on something for support. Something that wasn't going to feel responsible for her or think that she needed protecting all the damn time. Yeah, this wall wasn't going to judge her or overreact. Or underreact. This wall was a good friend.

She had nearly dozed off leaning on her new friend when something warm and hard ran into her. No, not a something, she realized as it groaned on top of her. It was a someone. A him actually.

His momentum had pushed them both into the alleyway next to where Lucy had been leaning. He had landed on her stomach, and she realized with a blush that neither of them had anything covering their abdomens, so it was just bare skin touching. And he kept moving around like he was trying to figure out what had broken his fall.

Her face heated up again rapidly and she managed to stammer, "Um, could you get off of me, please?"

The man froze for a moment before turning to face her. His clear blue eyes appraised her, and she idly wondered how he got the scar over his right eye. Something glimmered in a stray beam of light at his right ear.

"I can't say I've ever had a woman ask me that," he said several moments later. At least she thought it was a while. Time was moving strangely, and she wasn't entirely certain if it was due to the alcohol or the man still draped across her stomach.

She blinked at him slowly before his words clicked, and she shouted, "What does that even mean?!"

"Ow, geez, Blondie, tone it down. Some of us have sensitive hearing," he said as he rubbed his ear for emphasis. Then he smirked at her and added, "Although, I wouldn't mind it much if you were screaming for a different reason."

'Is he seriously coming onto me right now after knocking me over and laying on me for Mavis knows how long?' She started shaking with building rage, and just as she was about to administer an acrobatic Lucy Kick, he moved off of her. Lucy sat up and stared incredulously at the wannabe womanizer, who had tossed one more smirk her way and started to leave.

"Wait a minute!" Lucy yelled. "Aren't you going to apologize for running into me? Or thank me for breaking your fall? Or at least help me off the damn ground, you jerk."

He stopped and looked back at her perplexed.

"Do you not know who I am?" He asked. His brow rose in an impressively imperious expression, but Lucy was so not in the mood to be impressed by anything about him at this point.

"I've always hated when people ask that. Obviously not. And even if I did, how would that affect the fact that you owe me an apology?"

He stared at her for so long that she considered just getting up on her own and shoving past him to head back to the inn, but she was nothing if not stubborn, and she could wait him out. She really expected to him to pull a Laxus and 'Tch' before walking away. Instead, he walked back to her and offered her a hand. She took it hesitantly and he pulled her up with probably more force than necessary. Yeah, she was going to blame that for the reason she fell into his mostly naked torso, making skin-to-skin contact with the man for the second time that night.

Lucy tried to pull away, but he kept her hand in his and wrapped his free arm around her waist.

"I'm sorry for knocking you to the ground. Thank you for breaking my fall, and for helping me hide from my fanbase. Is there anything I can do to return the favor?" His face was inches from hers, and while she thought she caught a heavy layer of sarcasm, she was still too buzzed and discomfited by his nearness to care.

"I accept your apology. And you're welcome. You can let go of me now." The last part came out a little shaky, but she was pretty sure he wouldn't notice. She just hoped he couldn't feel her heartbeat going crazy. Hopefully her giant boobs gave enough padding to prevent it despite the fact that they were pressed chest to chest.

"But I don't want to let go," he said. He brought his face close to her ear and whispered, "I can hear how fast your heart is beating being so close to me. And my nose is as keen as my ears. I can tell just how much you want me."

Well, she was busted. And that made her angry, which made her heart pound for a different reason.

"Fine, you're attractive. Happy? But I don't do jerks. And you, you are definitely a cocky jerk." She pulled hard to break away from him, but he still held her easily despite the fact that he seemed to be thinking about something else entirely. He wasn't even looking at her anymore. He was just staring off into space. Lucy didn't have enough wiggle room to knee him in the balls, but she managed to squirm just enough so that she could bring the heel of her boot down on his toes.

"Ow! What the hell, Blondie?" He yelped.

"Let go of me or you'll get a lot worse than that, buddy," she replied.

"Fine, I'll let you go on one condition."

"And what's that?"

He smirked. Lucy really hated guys who smirked. Smirks usually meant cocky, egotistical jerks. She mentally sighed as she realized that she really needed to expand her vocabulary beyond 'jerks.' She was so lost in this mental digression that she nearly missed his reply.

"Kiss me."

"Excuse you?"

"I said, kiss me. One kiss and if you still want me to let you go, then I will." His smirk seemed permanently plastered to his nearly perfect face. She wanted to scoff at him and find a way to break his hold, but part of her was curious. Of course, it was still infuriating that he was a) making this demand and b) acting as if she wouldn't want him to let her go after she kissed him.

Without letting herself think about it any longer, Lucy reached up her free hand that was wedged in between them to grab his spiky blond hair and yank his face down to hers. She meant to make it just a peck; fulfill the condition and then get the hell out of there. But his lips were so soft. Yet firm. And they molded to hers so perfectly. And his body was comfier than her best friend the wall, so maybe this was actually an improvement.

Somehow her tongue developed a separate consciousness and darted out to taste his bottom lip. His lips parted for her instantly, and she forgot that she was supposed to really hate guys like him in between initiating the kiss and running out of air. When she pulled away to gasp in a large breath, she saw his cocky smirk, and she remembered again.

"You can let go of me now," she said coldly.

She desperately wanted a picture of his shocked expression. Just for the pricelessness of the moment, not because she wanted to look at his face again or anything. His arms dropped robotically, and she headed for the alley's exit.

"Oi, Blondie, you probably won't get another chance at this. You should really come back to my inn and get it out of your system now so you don't go crazy thinking about me," he called after her.

"I think I'll survive," Lucy said without turning around. "Thanks for the concern, though."

She lifted a hand in a reverse wave of complete dismissal and made her way back to the inn.

 **A/N: This is the point where the story completely stopped being what I expected. Initially, I was just going to have drunk Lucy hook up with Sting (not knowing who he was) but this is better, I think.**


	4. Chapter 3: Platypus (I hate you)

Erza's worried face greeted her when she made it back to their room. Gray and Natsu were already passed out in their beds. Wendy sat up in hers as Lucy quietly entered the room.

"Are you alright, Lucy? You left very suddenly. I was about to go looking for you," Erza said.

"I'm fine, Erza. I just needed some air. I think I had a bit too much tonight," Lucy said with a sigh. "I'm beat. I'm going to sleep now."

"Alright, but if you need to talk, I hope you know that I will listen."

Lucy smiled at her teammate before collapsing on her bed without bothering to change.

 _Lucy found herself back in the alley lying underneath the blond. But this time, his body lined up with hers so that they were pressed intimately together. She felt the cold of the cobblestones beneath her mostly bare back, but that wasn't what made her shiver._

 _He looked down at her with a gleam in his eyes as if he knew she wouldn't say no to anything he asked. His face lowered to capture her lips as his hands wandered over her bare skin. Her shiver became a full-blown tremble, and she idly thought that since this was a dream, she didn't have to stop him. It was like he sensed her decision to enjoy things and he deepened the kiss._

 _The mystery man's hands and mouth were everywhere and somehow she was naked. But she didn't care. She couldn't think past the feel of his hands and oh so skillful tongue. She whimpered with need and tried to touch him in return, but her hands slipped through him like mist and he tsked at her._

 _"I told you that you should have gotten it out of your system," he said with that awful smirk._

Lucy woke up panting and groaned in frustration. She flung her head back into the pillow and drifted back to sleep.

It wasn't until she woke up in the morning that Lucy realized she had never put her shirt back on after losing the drinking competition to Gajeel the night before. She sat up in her bed with an ear-shattering squeal that had her teammates all out of bed and looking for who they had to fight in a matter of seconds.

"Geez, Luce. Where's the bad guys?" Natsu asked.

"What? Sorry. No bad guys. I just… Um, can you guys close your eyes, please?" Of course, this request just served to train all eyes on her. Gray blushed as he realized what must have startled Lucy so badly. Natsu just looked at her like she was a weirdo. Erza began blushing also and promptly knocked the boys over the head so they both collapsed.

"I guess I was a little more drunk last night than I thought," Lucy muttered as she pulled a shirt from her bag. She began blushing furiously as it hit her that she must have been dressed like this through the whole encounter with the blond man in the alley. Shit.

A few hours later found her once again strolling the streets of Crocus with Natsu and Happy. She vaguely remembered something embarrassing happening last night involving Natsu, but she wasn't sure what, and he didn't act as though anything weird had happened so she let the feeling go and just enjoyed spending time with her partner.

They just walked around admiring the flowers until Natsu caught the sounds of a fight, which of course he had to rush towards. Lucy jogged after him and briefly lost him in the crowd before she heard an all too familiar voice. Dread and disbelief warred in her gut as Lucy pushed through the crowd to see Natsu on all fours in front of the man from the alley.

"—the dragon slayer who couldn't even slay a dragon," he was saying.

"You don't know what you're talking about, man," Natsu said as he rose to his feet. "Acnologia isn't just any dragon."

"Yeah! You'd be singing a different tune if you'd actually been there," Lucy added. She crossed her arms under her chest and glared at the pompous jackass. Oh good, she was progressing from using jerk to describe everything. Still stuck on the letter J, though.

"Is that so, Blondie? Well, as it happens, I have actually slain a dragon. And so has Rogue. Can any of your fairy dragon slayers say that? Didn't think so."

"You've killed a dragon?" Natsu said with obvious disbelief.

"We knew that in order to be true dragon slayers and achieve our ultimate power, we needed to actually kill one of the beasts, so we did," the black-haired one (Rogue?) said. At this point the red Exceed in a vest started babbling about different generations of dragon slayers and both Lucy and Natsu lost interest. Eventually Natsu interrupted with a question he actually cared about.

"So did your dragons disappear on July 7 in the year X777?"

"You could say that," the blond said with a smirk.

"In the sense that they died," Rogue added.

"Yeah, the great Sting killed his dragon. Weren't you listening at all?" The Exceed asked. He was almost as annoying as his dragon slayer.

"Rogue did, too!" A tiny pink Exceed in a green frog costume piped up. 'So. Cute.' Lucy allowed herself a moment of rapture over the cuteness of the creature before returning to the conversation at hand.

"Those were your parents!" Natsu yelled. "And you murdered them?"

"Rogue, I think we're done here," Sting said. But before leaving he stalked up to Lucy and looked down at her with that smirk that pissed her off so much the night before. He leaned in slightly and whispered, "I liked you better without the shirt, Blondie. And before I found out you were a fairy. You should have taken me up on that offer."

"Go to hell," Lucy growled through her teeth. His smirk merely deepened as he strode away with his friend and their Exceeds in tow.

Lucy found herself shaking with rage. She continued glaring after the cocky dragon slayers until she felt Natsu's hand on her shoulder. She glanced up into his black eyes and found her rage mirrored there.

"Let's head back to the inn," Natsu said. "I don't feel much like sightseeing anymore. We should rest up for tonight so we can be sure to beat those sorry excuses for slayers."

"Right," Lucy said with a nod.

 **A/N: Well, now she knows his name at least. And in case anybody is confused, I had the guild come into town a night early so the preliminary and start of the games won't be happening until the next chapter.**

 **Lyssore: There's defs Graylu to come! And yeah, Cana knows how to push buttons with that one haha. It'll still be a while before Sabertooth knows anything about Sting and Lucy, mostly because right now it's just a hate/attraction thing for them. That might be a little cliche, but I think it really fits for them. And I totally agree that Lucy doesn't get enough credit for her strength! I think a lot of Sting's attraction from her will stem from a) her not fawning over him at all and b) her being able to take care of herself.**

 **I'm glad you liked it, and thanks for the review!**

 **noonutzambk: Fighting in the next one I promise! Although, I will be skipping over a lot of the fights when I'm not straying from canon.**

 **Thanks everyone for reading!**


	5. Chapter 4: Hazy Shade of Winter

They had made it through the preliminary round. Barely. Elfman had to replace Wendy unexpectedly when the tiny dragon slayer failed to appear at midnight. Wendy and Carla had finally been found unconscious in the castle gardens, and everyone was worried, but there was nothing more they could do for her. Instead, the team tried to prepare themselves for the day's games.

They were the first to walk into the arena as the 8th place team. Lucy smiled wide at the crowd, and Natsu pumped his fist in the air. Her smile quickly fell as a cabbage barely missed her head. The crowd was booing?

"This isn't quite what I expected," Gray said.

"I know we've been gone for a while, but has Fairy Tail really been forgotten that much?" Lucy asked.

"Well I guess we just gotta remind 'em," Natsu said. He smacked a flaming fist into his other hand. Beneath the boos, they heard their guild desperately cheering while trying to drown out the rest of the stadium.

"It's Master Mavis!" Lucy exclaimed as she pointed to their guildmates.

"Hey! We definitely can't lose if the ghost is here to watch us," Natsu said with a grin.

The team stood in the middle of the arena waiting for their competitors to be announced and join them. Quatro Cerberus, Mermaid Heel, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale. It was nice to see their old friends hadn't changed much, though there were a couple of new faces. Well, one new face for Lamia Scale and a new rabbit mascot for Blue Pegasus. It was hard to remember that the Oracion Seis incident had happened several years ago for everyone else. To Lucy and the rest of her team, it could have been just a few months earlier. Even with the added years, their old friends could still make them laugh even as they traded barbs about who would win this year.

Then came the dark guild. Okay, so according to the announcers they weren't technically a dark guild anymore. But legal or not, Raven Tail was bad news. Master Makarov looked ready to stroke out at the mention of his son's guild. Lucy had to hold Natsu back from attacking the man in the giant metal mask when he basically admitted that he was the one who had taken out Wendy and Carla. Lucy had a bad feeling about them, especially the red-haired chick with the crazy eyes who kept staring at her. Lucy shivered and turned away to wait for the next team to be announced.

"Wow, what a surprise! Second place is Fairy Tail Team B!"

"What gives?" Natsu whined as the announcer explained the rules that allowed two teams for each guild in the preliminaries. "Don't think I'm going to go easy on any of you. We may be from the same guild, but if I'm facing you on the field, you are my enemy!"

He might be taking this a little too seriously, Lucy thought. But then, that was just Natsu. She wasn't really close to any of the Team B members so while the others all chatted, she just kind of stared around the arena vacantly. Just one team left to announce. She remembered Macao saying something about Sabertooth being the strongest guild. Obviously it would be them. She was curious as to what sort of people were in that guild.

She didn't have long to wait. While the boos for her team had been pretty loud, the cheers for Sabertooth were ridiculous. She peered across at the tunnel, and her heart started racing when she saw the team enter.

"No, no, no, no, you have got to be kidding me," Lucy muttered.

"What's up, Lucy?" Gray asked as he tried to unhook Juvia from where she had latched onto his arm. His expression could have been concerned, but it really was hard to tell with him.

"Um..." Before she could think up a decent response, the Sabertooth team stood in front of them.

"You..." Natsu growled.

"Why so serious?" Sting asked with a laugh. "It's just a game after all. Can't wait to show you the true power of Sabertooth."

Distantly, Lucy heard the two Sabertooth Exceeds cheering from the stands. She sort of registered Gajeel making a comment to Rogue, but she was more focused on the cocky slayer in front of her. Oh please don't let him say anything to me here that I can't explain to my team, she mentally begged the universe.

Sting looked like he was about to do the thing she feared when the announcer began explaining the game. She sighed in relief as she turned to the giant stone that had appeared in the middle of the arena. Time to get this party started, she thought.

* * *

Gray lost in the game Hidden. Juvia hadn't fared much better. But Gray took it particularly hard. They were supposed to be representing the guild and bringing back their old reputation. It was a terrible start, and he felt personally responsible.

The ice mage punched a hole in the wall of the stadium tunnel. A light hand landed on his back. As much as he wanted to pull away, he could tell even from the simple touch whom it was. So instead, Gray turned around and wrapped the woman in his arms. He buried his face in her golden hair as her arms snaked around his waist. Lucy just held her friend as he shook for a while. He had been her rock so many times, so it was nice to be able to return the favor.

Finally he pulled back to look her in the eye.

"Thanks, Lucy," he whispered. His hand came up to trace her cheek. She offered a small smile and placed her hand on the back of his. She held their hands there against her cheek as she closed her eyes to lean into the touch. She was about to pull away when she felt his lips pressed against hers. The kiss was needy and fierce. He had only ever kissed her gently the few times they had explored a more physical relationship. He had touched her then as if she would break into pieces if he didn't handle her carefully. There was none of that hesitation now.

The kiss left her slightly winded, but a voice in the back of her mind couldn't help noting that it was nothing like kissing Sting. But unlike the cocky jerk, she cared about Gray. Not as much as she cared about Natsu, maybe, but still. After all, she was in love with Natsu and—

"Oh. my. god," Lucy whispered brokenly.

"Did I hurt you, Lucy?" Gray asked. He raised her chin to search her eyes for why her voice sounded so distressed. "I'm sorry. I just— I don't know why I did that. I mean. I know why I did, but if you don't feel that way about me, I understand. I—."

Lucy laid a finger on his lips to stop his babbling. She giggled.

"The kiss was wonderful, Gray. It just reminded me of something that happened the other night that I had forgotten. I'm sorry I freaked you out. You know how much I care about you. And the only reason I stopped pursuing a physical relationship with you is because I thought you were falling for Juvia. So please, stop worrying."

"Oh, well, good, then," he said uncertainly. He stepped away from her and rubbed his neck. "So what was it you remembered?"

"I—," Lucy wasn't sure if she should tell him. After all, he had just admitted that he did still harbor feelings for her, and the thing she had remembered was that she had confessed to a certain fire dragon slayer that she loved him. Oh Mavis, what was she going to do?

"You told Natsu that you're in love with him last night, didn't you?" Gray asked. He stared at the ground, letting his bangs cover his eyes. "After you left so quickly, we looked at the last cards you drew. I figured that Flame Brain not responding is what set you off. That's why we didn't go looking for you. Natsu tried, but Erza told him to stay put."

"How am I supposed to face him now?" Lucy said. "It's obvious that he doesn't feel the same way about me. And now that I've said… that…"

"Well, was he weird about it today?" Gray asked.

"No, he didn't seem off," Lucy said thoughtfully. "Maybe he already forgot?"

"He is an idiot," Gray said. He chuckled. "I wouldn't worry about it, Lucy. If it bothers him, he'll let you know. I'm more worried about you, though. Even if he doesn't bring it up, how's it going to affect you?"

"Well, it's not like anything has really changed," she said. "I guess we'll just go back to normal. Who knows? Maybe somebody else will help me forget about him."

She was staring at the floor so she missed the hopeful glint in Gray's eyes. When she did look back up at him, it was gone.

"I'm sorry, Gray. I was supposed to be cheering you up. But it looks like you ended up doing that for me."

"I think we both got some good out of it. Now come on. Let's head back to the viewing area. They'll be announcing the one-on-ones soon," he said. But before they headed back, he lightly grasped her chin and pecked her cheek. They held hands the whole way back to their team.

 **A/N: Aw yeah, Graylu love!**

 **To the guest who reviewed: Thank you so much! That really means a lot to me that you're enjoying it so far :)**

 **And thanks everyone else who favorited and followed! There's much more to come, so stay tuned.**


	6. Chapter 5: Untouched

Lucy stood in the tunnel beneath the stadium shivering. That was close. Too close. First the danger to Asuka, and then one of Raven Tail's other members trying to cheat. She got lucky that they didn't count on her not having used quite all of her magic power. Despite the shock of urano metria being dispelled at the last moment, Lucy had pulled herself together enough to use Fleuve d'étoiles to grab Flare and beat her into the ground a few times to knock her out.

It had taken a lot out of Lucy, though. She'd had to lean on Natsu to leave the arena floor. Luckily she had recovered enough by the time they reached the tunnel for her to walk alone so he could go back to watching the matches. She knew he was eager to see just how strong their competitors were. Lucy pressed her head to the wall and took deep breaths as she tried to calm the shaking of her legs.

And then, the thing with Gray. What even was that? She had been so sure that he was into Juvia. The kiss had been nice, though. Gray always knew how to comfort her when she was down. She needed that comfort now, too. She hated to admit it, but she needed to feel someone's arms around her. Natsu's hand in hers as he helped her to stand had been nice, but it hadn't lasted long. He was probably wary of her since her drunken confession the first night in the city, though he hadn't said anything about it. Still, a hug would have been nice.

As if answering her wish, two strong arms wrapped around her. They pulled her back from the wall and into an equally strong chest. Lucy sighed and leaned into the back hug. But she tensed as the person chuckled.

"Geez, I knew you'd miss me, Sunshine, but I didn't think you'd be this ready to give in," a familiar voice said. She could _hear_ his stupid smirk.

Lucy jerked away from him, and she was mildly surprised that he let her. Of course, as soon as she stepped away and faced him, he pushed her back to the wall with his arms on either side of her shoulders so that she was boxed in. There was plenty of room for her to wiggle away from him or kick him, but she stayed still.

"Actually I thought you were someone else. Thanks for disappointing me," Lucy said. He tensed at the jab, and she thought that maybe she had actually managed to get under his skin a bit.

"Whoever you were hoping for, you can bet that I'm better," he said after a moment.

"What do you want, Sting?"

"So you remembered Lector saying my name, huh? I'm glad. I like hearing you say my name," he practically purred as he inched closer to her.

"Well don't get used to it, I doubt we'll be seeing much more of each other. Now what do you want?"

She placed a hand on his chest to keep him at arms' length. That might have been a mistake as she could now feel his sculpted chest through the thin material of his mini-shirt, and she definitely remembered what that chest felt like pressed against her own. Her dream from that night popped up, and she blushed. She looked down so that her bangs would swing down over her face and hopefully hide her embarrassment.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on your match. Even with the other team playing dirty, you still managed to pull out a win. I was impressed. If you ever get tired of flitting around with those useless fairies, you should join Sabertooth."

Lucy glared at him. All hints of embarrassment vanished as he insulted her guild, her teammates.

"You'll be thinking differently when we wipe the floor with you kitty cats," she growled. "I bet you'll be begging to join Fairy Tail once we show you just how strong we really are. You were impressed by me? I just might be the weakest member of my team when it comes to direct combat. Just wait till you see them in action, Kitty."

Lucy poked a finger into his chest for emphasis before she ducked under his arm, only to find her wrist in his grasp as he spun her into a very familiar position. She cursed her traitorous heart for picking up the pace. At least now she knew why he'd been able to hear her heartbeat that first night. Lucy was so distracted by her thoughts that she nearly missed his next words.

"Care to make a wager on that, Fairy?"

"What'd you have in mind, Kitty?"

"When Sabertooth wins, you become mine for a day. A full 24 hours of whatever I want."

Lucy gave a very ladylike snort. She could easily imagine what that would entail. Not that it would be all bad, a traitorous voice in the back of her head muttered.

"And when Fairy Tail wins…" Lucy paused before offering a mischievous smile of her own. "When we defeat you, I get you for a day. Full 24 hours. Whatever I want."

Sting smirked down at her. Shit, shit, shit. Why did she just say that? Now he was going to think she was interested. Scratch that, he could already tell she was interested. She needed to fix it, but she really didn't want to back out of it.

"AND you tell me the truth about what happened to your dragon. I want the real story and not just your bravado."

Sting went rigid though he maintained his grip on Lucy.

"Fine," he growled. "Now we seal the bet."

"Celestial wizards never break their promises. What about white dragon slayers?"

"My word is my bond, Sunshine. But we still need to seal it."

"What, you want a blood pact? Don't you think that's a bit overkill?"

He sighed and dropped his face closer to hers.

"I don't want your blood, Sunshine, just your body. But for the moment, I'll settle for your lips." With that, he twisted the hand that had been wrapped around her waist into her hair as his lips covered hers. She cursed herself for moaning at the dual sensation, but she quickly forgot about her anger as she kissed him back fiercely. This was so much better than the dream. Better than Gray, the traitorous voice whispered, maybe even better than...

Suddenly, she pulled back, though she was pleased to see that Sting was as breathless from the kiss as she was this time. She pushed back from him and he dropped his hold. She headed back for the stands where her team was watching the final match of the day.

"Don't forget your promise, Sunshine," Sting called to her softly.

"Oh I won't, Kitty Cat. I can't wait to learn your secrets," she whispered. She knew that he would hear her anyway. Lucy thought she heard him chuckle, but maybe it was just an echo of the cheering crowd above.

Lucy rejoined the team, and she saw Natsu's nose twitch before he gave her an odd look. He could probably smell Sting. Dammit. Lucy internally sighed. She really couldn't deal with that right now, but she knew she would have to deal with it later. For now, she just watched the final two battles with little real interest.

Natsu cornered her a lot quicker than she expected. Almost as soon as the team left the stadium for the day, he managed to separate her from the rest and hustle her into an abandoned alley.

"Spill it, Luce," he said. Lucy arched an eyebrow at him and waited for him to explain. She knew exactly what he meant, but she wasn't going to make this easy for him. Natsu sighed and ran a hand through his spiky hair.

"I can smell him on you. Was he threatening you?"

"More like just insulting me," she said lightly. At least Natsu jumped to threatening instead of seducing. That was a small relief.

"I'll kick his ass," he said as flames appeared around his hand.

"Just do it in the games, Natsu. I know you'll end up facing him eventually. We'll show him in the arena that Fairy Tail is nothing to scoff at."

Natsu nodded, but he didn't make any move to leave the alley. He was clearly thinking about something else. Lucy's heart skipped as she thought about the first night in Crocus. Was he finally going to bring it up?

Suddenly, Lucy found herself in her partner's arms. She leaned into the hug and nestled her face in his neck. She felt him snuffle at her hair as he pulled her in closer so there were no gaps between them. After a few moments, he released her and stepped away.

"Sorry about that," he said with a shrug. "I just had to get that god awful scent off of you."

She Lucy Kicked him into the wall and stormed off to the inn.

* * *

 **A/N: I wanted to show the actual battle, but I couldn't seem to write something that I actually liked, so sorry it's just a synopsis. But, Lucy won! Let me know what you think and thanks for reading :)**

 **Edit: This chapter has been updated from the original. 4/14**


	7. Chapter 6: Patience

Five contestants raced across the moving wagon beds toward the finish line at the arena. It was an exciting race full of battles and exploding wagons as the vehicle slowly crept along. Too bad her teammate wasn't one of those five, Lucy thought with a sigh. She had tried to dissuade Natsu from volunteering once the name of the event was announced as she knew that his motion sickness would most likely be a major detriment. After all, the word 'chariot' just screamed moving vehicle to her.

But Natsu was stubborn.

What had really surprised Lucy was the state of the other two dragon slayers who entered the competition. She hadn't realized that Gajeel also had issues with motion sickness, and since Sting was having the same problem, she guessed it had to have something to do with their powers. Odd, but potentially valuable information, she thought.

The sorry trio crawled across the wagons. The nausea was definitely getting to them. All five of the other teams had already crossed the finish line. But the remaining contenders refused to give up. Well, the two from Fairy Tail refused anyway.

"Why are you two fighting so hard?" Sting's voice projected over the stadium as he sat down in surrender to his ailment. "Just give up already. What's one point?"

"We're fighting for the people we left behind. The ones who waited for us. For seven years they've dealt with jeers and insults while we were trapped in stasis. Seven years of waiting. And they didn't give up on us. They never stopped believing we would come back. So we can't give up now. We will keep fighting. For them!"

Lucy was impressed that Natsu managed to make such a long speech while still managing to crawl forward and not barf on anything. She saw the tears in the eyes of their guildmates in the stands above, and she felt a few tears gathering in her own eyes. Leave it to her partner to make a moving speech while looking like he could throw up his breakfast at any moment.

The screens flicked back to Sting who was just watching Natsu with disbelief etched into his features.

"You can't win," the blonde said finally. "Even if you make it to the finish line in this game, you're so far behind that you can't possibly win the Games overall."

"Just keep telling yourself that, boy," Gajeel said. He somehow managed to sneer at the younger slayer even though he was struggling not to blow chunks just as much as Natsu. "All of you people seemed to forget over the last few years just what Fairy Tail is. We weren't the number one guild in Fiore just because we were good at breaking stuff. We were number one because we never give up. Ever. And that's why we're going to prove that we are still number one. So you just sit back and relax, pretty boy. Let the grownups show you what a real guild is."

Well, he didn't hit the sentimental button as hard as Natsu, but Gajeel certainly helped to drive the point home. What felt like hours later, the two Fairy Tail dragon slayers stumbled over the finish line and fell to the ground thanking the heavens for the fact that it didn't move under their feet. The screens no longer showed Sting, but Lucy was pretty sure he was still rooted to the spot where the fairies had left him. She hoped he had learned something from this whole ordeal. Maybe it would help take his cocky attitude down a peg, though she doubted it. It would probably take a few fists to the face to really help with that little problem.

She pushed the blonde out of her head as she went to greet her teammate. Natsu shocked her by pulling her into a hug as she got close. He held her for a few moments before smiling down at her brightly and leading her back to their team's balcony to watch the one-on-ones.

Lucy watched anxiously as Bacchus beat at Elfman in his lizardman takeover. She wasn't sure how much more the big man could take. Suddenly an arm fell around her shoulders. Lucy glanced up to see Natsu holding her close to his side, but he wasn't looking at her. She followed his line of sight and found Sting watching them with narrowed eyes. Lucy decided to snuggle into Natsu's side and hope that the other slayer took the hint.

She knew Natsu was only doing this to protect her from Sting. After all, the fire dragon slayer couldn't actually be jealous. Whatever his motive, Lucy was determined to enjoy the rare physical contact.

When Bacchus finally collapsed and Elfman was declared the winner, Natsu released his hold on Lucy to jump around wildly in celebration. Lucy cheered, as well. Elfman was carried to the infirmary, and Lucy saw Evergreen hurrying away from the guild's balcony. Figuring he'd be in good hands, Lucy settled back to watch the match between Jenny and Mirajane, which turned out to be a very different kind of battle. Lucy briefly wondered what the hell a 'pose-off' was, but she quickly realized. It was actually kind of a relief to have something more lighthearted and less about bloodshed after the intensity of the previous match.

Once the female members of other guilds started getting involved, Lucy couldn't help joining in. Any excuse to show off her swimsuit, right? When the wedding apparel category popped up, Lucy suddenly found herself in Loke's arms. She wondered why he couldn't summon himself at times when it would actually be useful instead of just when he felt like annoying her. She barely had time to ponder this before the two crashed into Natsu, and Loke popped back to the Spirit World. Everything slowed for a moment in her mind as she saw Natsu in the white tux.

Of course, the moment quickly shattered when Gray grabbed her waist and grinned down at her. From the corner of her eye, Lucy saw Juvia with a dangerous dark blue aura. Oh, this fool was definitely trying to get her killed. Before she could properly push him off, though, the stadium was being reeled back in to focus on the true battle. Lucy found herself back in the stands in her normal clothes with Gray's arm still snuggling around her waist. She gave him a questioning look, and he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"I couldn't let the pyro be the only one to get close. I'm not going to just let him take you from me without a fight. Tell me to back off, and I will. But I know you have feelings for me, Lucy. Maybe not as strong as for him, but they are there. And I have to believe those feelings can grow."

Instead of replying, Lucy just put her arm around his waist, as well. She idly wondered how Sting was reacting to this new turn of events. She was too befuddled by the issues with Sting and Gray, as well as her feelings for Natsu, to notice the look that the fire dragon slayer was casting toward Gray. It probably just would have confused her more if she had seen it anyway.

After Mirajane won, Lucy was ready to leave the balcony. She just wanted to get away from all the weird drama she found herself in. She had thought up a great excuse ("I'm tired." That always worked.) and she was just about to give it to Erza when the next fight started. She felt a familiar form of magic in the air, and she pulled away from Gray to step up to the railing.

"She's a celestial mage," Lucy whispered. The white-haired girl from Sabertooth, Yukino, faced off against the leader of Mermaid Heel's team. Lucy squealed excitedly as she realized what, or rather who, the girl had just summoned."She has a zodiac key!"

Too bad she was a member of their primary rival guild. Lucy would have loved a chance to talk to the girl. Lucy had always been curious about the only two Zodiac spirits that she wasn't contracted to. She nearly squealed again as Yukino summoned the second Zodiac spirit.

"You okay, Luce?" Natsu asked without actually turning his attention from the fight.

"I'm just so excited that I've finally seen all 12 Zodiacs!" Lucy said. The battle turned against the Sabertooth mage, and Lucy held her breath to see what spirit she would summon next.

"Open gate of the Snake Charmer, Ophiuchus," Yukino said. Lucy's eyes widened. She'd never even heard of a thirteenth Zodiac spirit. Part of her was jealous, but mostly she was just happy to be learning more about her spirit family. The arena was cloaked in black mist as a giant black snake wrapped itself around the contestants. Natsu's and Gray's jaws dropped comically far at the appearance.

Lucy felt a hint of fear, but it was just so fascinating! And she could feel so much power pouring from the spirit and the celestial mage who had called it.

So she was just as stunned as everyone else in the arena when Kagura defeated both the snake and Yukino in just a few seconds.

Lucy heard Sting curse from his team's balcony in the nearly silent stadium. She barely spared him a glance before turning back to the girl still lying on arena floor. For some reason, an image of Angel lying defeated in a stream popped into Lucy's head. She chalked it up to their shared affinity for feathers because Yukino didn't seem particularly evil when dealing with her spirits. And right now, the girl looked positively broken. As none of her team moved to help her from the ground, Lucy was tempted to do it herself.

As the seconds ticked by with no change, Lucy turned and ran down her team's tunnel to reach the arena floor. She didn't know if this would really be doing the girl a favor or not, but she couldn't just leave her there like that as the crowd began emptying from the stadium. Lucy sprinted into the open area and knelt at Yukino's side. Yukino stared up at the sky with tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

"Yukino?" Lucy asked tentatively. "Do you need a hand? I'm sure your team has healers, but we have two of the best. I'm sure they'd look you over if you're wounded."

"Wounded?" Yukino murmured as she tried to focus on Lucy's face. "I'm not physically hurt."

"Then, can I help you stand?" Lucy asked. She held out a hand. After several moments of consideration, Yukino took it gently and the two rose together.

"Thank you," Yukino said. "You're Lucy Heartfilia, the celestial mage of Fairy Tail."

Lucy nodded even though it clearly wasn't a question. Yukino nodded absently back at her before making her way out of the arena. She stumbled slightly, and Lucy moved to help her, but Yukino merely shook her head. The white-haired girl offered a small wave before slowly walking away from the site of her defeat. Lucy's heart went out to her. She had come so close to experiencing the same thing the day before.

She glanced up at Sabertooth's balcony to find all four of Yukino's team members still sitting there, but now they were all glaring at her. Lucy put a hand on her hip and glared right back before turning angrily and heading for her own team.

 **A/N: It just never made sense to me that Lucy was so scared of the 13th key and just generally seemed unexcited by the idea of another celestial wizard. So I fixed it. Hope you like :)**


	8. Chapter 7: World Falling Apart

Lucy spent the evening at an outdoor café. She had stopped by a bookstore and had a new novel propped on the table in front of her as she sipped tea and nibbled on pastries. She let her mind completely sink into someone else's story for a while. She had dreamed about Sting again both of the previous nights, and now she had even more reason to hate him. Who just leaves their teammate on the ground like that? Lucy was irritated at all of the Sabertooth mages for not helping Yukino after she lost the battle, but for some reason she was particularly angry at Sting. Not that she should expect anything else from someone who claimed to have killed his own dragon parent. Noticing the fading light, Lucy decided she should head back to the inn. With all the weird Raven Tail activity, she really didn't want to be out in the dark.

She was nearly there when she was pulled into an alley and pressed against the cold wall. This was getting old really fast.

"Am I going to get a single evening without you accosting me?" Lucy asked. She glared up at the blonde who apparently wasn't content to merely plague her dreams; he had to be constantly in her face in reality, too.

"Maybe," he said with his trademark smirk. Still, he did back away so that she wasn't pinned in anymore.

"Well spit it out. What do you want this time? And no, I am not kissing you again just to get rid of you." She crossed her arms under her chest and maintained her angry look.

"I wanted to thank you for helping Yukino," he said. He wasn't looking at her, and the words were so quiet that she almost wasn't sure that she'd heard correctly.

"Well I wouldn't have needed to if her own teammates had been there for her," Lucy huffed. Sting rubbed his neck, and if Lucy didn't know him better, she would have thought he was actually feeling guilty.

"We aren't like you guys," he finally said. "In Sabertooth, you walk on your own power or you don't walk. It's that simple. Yukino lost."

"But she fought so hard. Against nearly any other opponent she would have won easily. And as it is, she did an amazing job," Lucy said. "Don't you think she feels bad enough already? She needs her friends there to help her."

"We aren't friends," Sting mumbled.

"What do you mean?"

"Sabertooth isn't about friendship, Sunshine. We aren't a hearts and flowers kind of guild like you fairies." Lucy started to interrupt angrily, but he held up a hand, and for some reason she let him continue. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing. At least, not entirely. It's only been two days, but I'm starting to remember why your guild was at the top before you and the others disappeared for seven years. All I'm saying is that Sabertooth doesn't rely on that kind of strength. Honestly, I'd say we don't even understand it."

"Your guild sounds like a really lonely place," Lucy said quietly. Sting laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound.

"You could say that, I guess. But it's what we are and every member understands it."

"If you keep going like this I might start to think you're not such a jerk after all," Lucy said softly. She gave him a small smile. It was the first time she had smiled at him in all of their encounters. He kind of liked it. And that was a problem.

"I was also wondering something," Sting said. "I noticed when we made our bet that you smelled like Natsu. But he wasn't the only one hanging all over you today. What gives?"

"What business is it of yours?"

"I'm just wanting to know if you're fucking both of them," he said nonchalantly.

"Pervert!" Lucy squealed and tried to Lucy Kick him into next week, but he blocked her leg and tackled her to the ground.

"I'm going to take that as a no," he said with a laugh. "Good. I wouldn't want Natsu's seconds."

Damn. She should have just told him yes so he would back off. But the question had caught her off guard, especially after their more open conversation, and instinct kicked in. Literally. Sting brushed his lips over hers before rising to his feet and offering her a hand up. She considered knocking his hand away, but decided to accept it after all. For once he didn't use the contact to pull her to him.

"Just so you're aware, I have no interest in a casual fling with you or anyone else. It's not my style," Lucy said as she brushed off her skirt.

"Can't say that I'm the relationship type, Sunshine."

"Then why don't you leave me alone!" She shouted. He winced at the volume before his face settled into what Lucy was beginning to recognize as his thinking expression. She really needed to avoid him if she was starting to read his expressions like this.

"Maybe I just like messing with you," Sting said after a moment. Then he added, "You know, you're really not like other girls."

"How so?" And she just rose to the bait. Oi. This conversation needed to end soon before one of her teammates stumbled across her conversing with the enemy.

"I'm still figuring that out," was all he said. Then he smirked again and started walking away. "By the way, nice undies. Pink looks good on you."

Lucy blushed. Why did she have to like short skirts so much? She shook her head and went to the inn.

* * *

Sting hadn't really intended to talk to her again. He was just putting off the inevitable. He knew when he returned to his guild's inn that the master was going to punish him in some way. Probably Yukino, too. He hoped the man wouldn't be too harsh on her. She had fought well, but that Kagura was a beast woman. He squared his shoulders before entering the inn. He would take whatever Master Jiemma dealt out. You didn't become the strongest guild by allowing weakness. That's something Fairy Tail didn't understand.

 _But are they really so weak?_ Sting couldn't help but wonder. Sunshine had said she was the weakest of her team, and she was clearly a force to be reckoned with.

He didn't have time to pursue these thoughts further as he found the entire guild assembled before the master. Yukino stood at the forefront.

"Sting, it's not a good idea to keep me waiting after you've already disappointed me," Jiemma said. The large man glared from his thronelike seat. Not that this was new; it's like the man didn't know how to do anything except glare at everyone.

"My apologies, Master. I was unavoidably detained. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't." Sting bowed his head and took his place next to Yukino. "Sting, your performance today was unacceptable. But, as you have always been one of our major victors, I'm willing to give you a second chance. Fail me again, and you will suffer the consequences."

The master dismissed him with a wave, and Sting stepped back to stand with Rogue. He couldn't believe the crazy old man had let him off so easily. Not even a real tongue-lashing. Maybe Yukino would be as lucky?

"Yukino. This was your test, and you failed. Sabertooth cannot abide such weakness as you displayed today. You placed your life in the hands of your enemy, and then you accepted the aid of another enemy. Take it off."

"Yes, master. If that is what you wish," Yukino whispered. She removed her clothes and folded them beside her.

"Take it all off," Jiemma said darkly. Yukino trembled slightly, but she did as he commanded and removed her guildmark. "Now get out of my sight."

The girl picked up her stack of clothing and rushed from the room. Sting couldn't believe it. One loss and she was out? And humiliated on top of that? What the hell?

"Is this really how a guild behaves?" Rogue murmured beside him. Sting silently agreed, but he said nothing. He knew that he had helped make Sabertooth this way. The guild had been largely unknown before he and Rogue joined with a couple of other strong wizards. The guild's reputation was built on them, and it had attracted other strong fighters over the years. None of them had ever cared about friendship. The only reason for being a part of a guild was to get stronger. That was all he cared about then, and it was all he cared about now.

So why did Yukino's devastated face haunt his dreams that night?


	9. Chapter 8: Anytime You Need a Friend

**A/N: I'm so excited by how many people are following and favoriting! I'm taking that as a good sign. Hope you all like this one, too :) It's more Yukino. I really adore her.**

* * *

Lucy relaxed in the bar with her guildmates. Gray had been bickering with Natsu until he was pulled away by Juvia and Lyon. Lucy could tell that he wanted no part of whatever conversation the two insisted on having with him, but she couldn't really save him from it. Even if she interrupted now they would just track him down later. She figured it was better for him to bear it now. Of course, then he stormed out of the bar, and she wondered if noninterference had been the best idea after all.

She didn't have much time to worry about it, though. Right after Gray nearly blew the doors off their hinges in his hurry to escape, a tiny white-haired woman entered the inn. She looked around for a moment before heading straight for Lucy.

"Lucy Heartfilia, my name is Yukino Agria. You helped me earlier today. May I speak with you in private?" Her soft voice was level, yet Lucy thought she heard some strain there.

"Of course, come with me," Lucy said. The smaller woman's timidity surprised her. How could Lucy not remember her from just a few hours ago? She led Yukino into a sitting room just off the bar. For some reason, Natsu and Wendy decided to tag along. Yukino seemed a bit nervous, but she didn't protest their presence.

"Lucy, I want you to take my keys," Yukino said. She set three gold zodiac keys on the table between them.

"What? Why?" Lucy exclaimed.

"I am not worthy of them. I saw how you interacted with your spirits yesterday, and I know that you will be a good master to Libra and Pisces. And there was no reason for you to be so kind to me earlier today, yet you came to help me without hesitation. You have a good heart, and you are a powerful celestial wizard. With these keys, you would have all 12 of the zodiac, plus the 13th, correct?"

"Well, yeah, that's true, but Yukino, I know the bonds that form between celestial wizards and their spirits. I can't break bonds like that. These are your friends. They need you, and I'm sure that you need them," Lucy said. Yukino grabbed Lucy's hand and pressed the keys into them.

"Please, Lucy. I have no intention of practicing celestial magic any further. I know you will give them a good home."

"But why would you give up your magic?" Wendy asked with wide eyes. Yukino gazed into the sky dragon slayer's innocent eyes and bowed her head. Before anyone could react, Yukino had fallen to the floor sobbing. Wendy wrapped her arms around the other girl and patted her head. Lucy joined them.

When her sobs had quieted a bit, Lucy asked, "Yukino, please tell us what happened. I know whatever it is, it hurts, but sometimes talking it out with friends can help."

"Friends?" Yukino whispered.

"Yeah, of course. Just the fact that you came to me with this means that you view me as a friend." Lucy knew she was stretching that logic a bit, but she had noticed the hopeful quaver in the girl's voice. After her conversation with Sting, Lucy figured that Yukino wasn't terribly familiar with the concept of friends, which meant she needed one more than ever right now.

"I failed," Yukino said. "I was defeated. After betting my life. For that, I was excommunicated from Sabertooth."

"What!" All three Fairy Tail wizards shrieked.

"You lost one battle, and they kicked you out?" Natsu said. His voice was dangerously low.

"Master Jiemma forced me to remove my guildmark and cast me out. I have nowhere to go. I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't have anyone!" Yukino's voice grew steadily more high pitched as she continued. Lucy pulled her back into a hug. She noticed that the room felt considerably warmer, and she glanced up to see Natsu's hands engulfed in flames.

"I'll be back," he growled. The room cooled almost instantly after he departed.

"Where is he going?" Yukino asked. She was a bit muffled as her face was buried in Lucy's chest. Lucy and Wendy shared a look since they knew exactly what the hothead was going to do. Instead of answering, Lucy changed the subject.

"I know that you probably aren't ready to make any major decisions, but you're welcome to stay with Fairy Tail for now. And if you want, you can even join our guild," Lucy said.

"Yeah, we'd be happy to welcome you and your spirits into our family. You aren't alone, Yukino," Wendy said. Yukino glanced between them both before bursting into tears again.

"Thank you so much!" She flung her arms around both girls, and the three clung together for a while longer before going to inform the rest of the guild that Yukino would be staying with them for a while.

* * *

Natsu's anger carried him through the streets of Crocus. He followed Yukino's scent to an inn. She must have come straight to them from her embarrassment at the hands of Sabertooth. It was late enough for most people to be in bed, so he didn't bother knocking. He just broke down the doors.

"Where is your master?" Natsu roared at the few people in the large entry room. Everyone merely regarded him in shocked silence, so he began rampaging through the room, destroying anything or anyone who got in his way. Within seconds, the rest of the Sabertooth guild had streamed from their rooms to find out where all the noise was coming from.

Sting and Rogue pushed to the front of the crowd just as Master Jiemma appeared.

"What the hell, Natsu? What's your problem?" Sting asked.

"My business isn't with you tonight, Sting. I'm here to beat some sense into your master," Natsu said. He regarded the giant man in front of him. "I take it that's you?"

"I don't have time for this," Jiemma said. "Dobengal. Take out the trash."

"Of course, master."

Two seconds later, Natsu had pounded a new hole in the wall using Dobengal's head.

"I'm not here to deal with your lackeys," Natsu growled. His flames completely engulfed his body. "I'm here for you. Is that really how you treat the members of your guild? One loss and you're out? Let's see if you follow your own rules then. Fight me. And when I kick your ass, I expect you to step down as master."

Sting couldn't believe his ears. Was Natsu talking about Yukino? How did he even know about that? Worse, a tiny voice that had been growing larger over the last few days whispered that an outsider shouldn't be the one to do this. It should have been Sting to challenge the harsh ruling. Yukino was one of their own. He was no better than Jiemma.

Natsu launched himself at Jiemma, but he was stopped by the appearance of a woman. A woman who was holding a struggling Happy. Natsu's flames immediately went out.

"Now then, if you go back to your own inn quietly, we'll pretend this never happened. We can't have fighting outside of the arena in the middle of the games. If you insist on following this foolish course of action, I'll just have to play with your little cat friend here."

"Natsu, I don't think I would like what she calls playing," Happy said with a whimper.

"Don't worry, buddy. Alright, whoever you are. We'll leave; just give me back Happy."

The woman released the blue Exceed who immediately ran to Natsu. Happy latched onto his best friend and started sobbing that he was sorry for getting caught. He just wanted to follow Natsu and make sure he would be okay.

"It's okay, little guy," Natsu said. He rubbed the cat's head and held him close. Then, he turned back to regard the Sabertooth members. "We'll settle this in the arena."

With that, he strode through the damaged doors and back to his family.


	10. Chapter 9: We Are Family

As the weird pumpkin mascot explained the rules of the group game Pandemonium, Sting surveyed the Fairy Tail mages in the stands. His breath caught a little when he saw Yukino sitting next to a girl who could have been her twin sister. It was weird, but seeing her there, it looked like she really did belong with them. He caught Rogue's attention and discreetly directed his eyes in their former guildmate's direction. Rogue froze. Anyone else wouldn't have noticed as the shadow slayer always seemed statuesque, but Sting had been with him for a very long time.

"I hope that they treat her better than we did," Rogue whispered so low that only a dragon slayer could hear him.

"I'm sure they will," Sting replied just as quietly. With Minerva breathing down their necks they couldn't risk drawing further attention to their conversation. Of course, she seemed more intrigued by the fact that Titania had just declared that she would take on all 100 monsters within the castle thing.

Even Sting blanched a bit at that. If Titania really could pull this off… Maybe Sunshine had been right about her guild. No! He mentally slapped himself. He had given up too much for Sabertooth to start thinking that maybe it wasn't the greatest guild in Fiore after all.

As Titania took out monster after monster, Sting tried to keep his focus on her in case he had to fight her later in the games, but his gaze kept wandering back to the Fairy Tail booth. Or worse, he found himself seeking out Lucy in the team balcony. Which just irritated him more because each time he found that ice mage glued to her side. Which led to further irritation as he couldn't figure out why he was so irritated that another guy was so close to her. He had already decided he couldn't pursue her anymore, hadn't he?

Sting scowled at his train of thought and brought his attention back to the game in time to see Titania take out the S-class monster.

"Holy shit, she did it," he muttered. "That woman's a monster."

"Well, she just proved that even monsters can be defeated," Minerva said with a sadistic smile.

A few minutes later as the remaining contestants displayed their strength levels with the Magic Power Finder, Sting was floored again by the brunette from Fairy Tail B crashing the machine with the force of her attack.

"I bet the mighty Sting could have done the same thing," Lector scoffed.

"Fro thinks so, too!" The green Exceed agreed. But then, Frosch agreed with everything.

* * *

Lucy's voice was hoarse from cheering for her team. First Erza, and then Cana, two of her best friends pulling out all the stops to show the world that Fairy Tail really was back in action. She was pumped for the one-on-one matches. Of course, that excitement was dampened when they found out that Laxus was fighting the Raven Tail member in the giant gold mask. There was no way that Raven Tail would give the son of their guildmaster a clean fight. Laxus had chosen Fairy Tail, after all.

Lucy knew that the lightning dragon slayer could handle himself. He was one of the strongest members of the guild. She wasn't worried at all. Nope. Not one bit. Well, then again, Raven Tail was a bunch of dirty cheats who had nearly stolen her victory.

Gray noticed her nervousness and gave her a nudge. She glanced up to see his half-smile. She liked that look on him; just one corner turned up. On anyone else it would have been a smirk, but with Gray, that was just the genuine article. She smiled brightly back at him before returning her attention to the field where the fight had begun.

Something was wrong. Lucy couldn't put her finger on it, but something felt off about the fight. For one thing, Laxus was getting his ass handed to him. But that wasn't the real problem. The fight felt… staged. Like someone had mapped out the movements ahead of time. Both Laxus and Alexei's movements were too perfectly ordered. There were no random actions.

Lucy quietly stepped away from the balcony so that she stood in the shadows. Her team was too invested in the fight and shouting at Laxus to get his act together to notice her slipping away.

"Open gate of the twins, Gemini," Lucy said softly. The two little blue creatures, Gemi and Mini, appeared beside her.

"Lucy! Piri, piri!" They squealed happily.

"Hey guys, can you turn into Laxus for me?" The words had barely left her mouth before the imposing dragon slayer stood before her.

"What is he thinking right now?"

"Laxus is speaking with his father," Gemini/Laxus said. He scowled. "The other members of Raven Tail are there, as well."

Lucy stepped back to the balcony long enough to glance at the Raven Tail viewing area. All four team members appeared to be there, but… something was wrong with them, too. As if reading her thoughts, Gemini provided the answer.

"The fight is an illusion."

Lucy whirled back to watch the arena. It was a good illusion. But now that she knew what to look for, she could see it flicker. She couldn't imagine the amount of power it took to cast the illusion of the fight as well as that of the four Raven Tail members standing in their balcony. But what could she do about it?

Dismissing Gemini with a quick thanks, Lucy sprinted through the halls of the stadium to her guild's box. She jumped over a few benches to reach the master and gain everyone's attention.

"The fight is an illusion. One of the Raven Tail members is casting it. All five members of their team are down there with Laxus." Everyone looked at her confused, but then, when they turned their attention back to the arena, the weight of so many knowing eyes on the spell caused it to shatter.

Laxus faced off against five members of the former dark guild, including his father. The crowd gasped, but the six people in the arena were too focused on their argument to notice.

"Just tell me what I want to know!" Ivan yelled. "Where's your loyalty to your family?" With that, he launched a vicious attack at the lightning slayer. When the smoke cleared, Laxus wasn't hurt in the least, and he hadn't moved an inch.

"Ha! Testing the limits of my power?" Ivan asked. "Or is it that you just can't bear to strike your dear old father? What a good boy you are, my little Laxus."

"Laxus!" Master Makarov yelled as he hopped up on the railing and raised his hand up high in the Fairy Tail symbol of solidarity. Every member of the guild followed suit so that in both team balconies and the main guild box every hand was raised with one finger pointed to the sky. Laxus nodded at the old man before springing into action.

For each Raven Tail member that he took out, Laxus had a message.

"Next time you pick on a little girl, you better hope I don't hear about it," Laxus said as he sent Obra flying with a fist to the face. He dodged Nalpudding's spiky fist attack and uppercut him out of the way as well, giving him Gray's regards.

Flare tried to scorch him, but he zapped her with his lightning, saying "That's for threatening a child, bitch."

Kurohebi attempted to sneak up behind him, but Laxus took him out just as easily as the others muttering that the guy was a creep.

Finally, it was just Laxus and Ivan in the middle of the arena. Ivan stared at his son in disbelief at how easily he had taken his elite team down.

"Laxus, I am still your father. I'm your own flesh and blood," Ivan yelled.

"A stupid pyro once told me that flesh and blood doesn't mean squat. And he was right. Fairy Tail is the only family I have. Threaten them, and all you'll get is pain. I don't car who you are." Laxus released his lightning through his fist, sending his father crashing into the stadium wall, where he crumpled into a heap.

"He didn't even really use his slayer abilities," Lucy murmured. Laxus wasn't always the easiest person in the guild to get along with, but in that moment, Lucy was proud to call him family.

Everyone cheered wildly. Natsu grabbed Lucy's arms and spun her around laughing; she hadn't even noticed him follow her from their team balcony. Then, he suddenly stopped and stared at her. Lucy felt her breath catch in her throat as he looked down at her intently. Then, he turned to the railing and yelled, "Who are you calling a stupid pyro, you freaking lightning rod!"

Lucy shook her head at him fondly before throwing her head back to laugh with all she had.

 **A/N: I kind of took some liberties with Gemini's abilities. Pretty sure there's more limitations than that, but I really wanted the guild to actually be able to see Laxus fighting Raven Tail.**


	11. Chapter 10: I Don't Want Love

The bar at Fairy Tail's inn was packed that night. Sherria and Wendy were pretty much inseparable since forming their new friendship on the field in the final match of the day. Lucy was still blown away by the amount of power that both girls contained in their tiny bodies. Gray and Natsu were taking turns "barrel surfing" into the wall. Somehow Gray managed to lose his clothes as he hit. Erza decided she needed a turn, as well. The bar was in chaos, Fairy Tail style.

"You seem really out of it, Lucy. Are you okay?" Lisanna asked. She sat across the table from the blonde with Yukino at her side. The two had clicked immediately, and they had already been mistaken for twins twice that day.

"Just a little tired. I may have to turn in early tonight."

"And miss the party?" Cana practically yelled in her ear. "No way. This is the first day that we've had a good solid reason to celebrate, and you are not skipping out on me, Lucy. We're just getting started!"

Lucy sighed. She was about to protest when an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Yeah, Luce. It's time to party!" Natsu grinned at her. She never could keep from returning a smile when he looked at her like that. Natsu's grin was infectious.

"Ugh, I can't fight both of you," she said in mock dismay. "Let's party!"

A general cheer went up from the rest of the guild and the drinks started flowing in earnest.

* * *

 _I will not go out looking for her. I will not go out looking for her. I will not go out looking for her._ Sting repeated the mantra in his head as he stared at the moon. Sabertooth was quiet this evening. Orga's performance on the Magic Power Finder was a little disappointing, and Rufus's win against the Blue Pegasus kid had been completely expected. Sabertooth wasn't much for celebrating things that were expected. Or really celebrating anything in general.

Rogue was passed out in the adjacent bed murmuring something about "iron" and "black steel." No surprises there. Sting was pretty sure that he had been equally fixated on Natsu until a few days ago. Now, he couldn't think of the fire dragon slayer he'd once idolized without thinking about a certain blonde. And he really didn't want to think about her. He didn't want to think about her absolutely perfect body or the way she fired off barbed comments while avoiding his advances. He didn't want to think about how fucking hot it was watching her defeat the redhead a couple days before or the way his gut twisted in a new way when he saw Natsu pull her close.

And he definitely didn't want to think about how much he wanted to see her again.

"Hey Sting, aren't you tired?" His Exceed friend Lector asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Not really. I'm too worked up to sleep," Sting said without thinking. At the questioning look from his tiny friend, he quickly added, "I have a feeling I'll get to fight Natsu tomorrow. I'm excited."

"Seven years of waiting. It's about time," Lector said. "Well, 'night Sting."

Sting turned back to face the moon again. He hadn't exactly lied to Lector. He did think he would face Natsu the next day. He knew the judges liked to match up opponents they thought the crowd would enjoy, and who better to face off than a couple of dragon slayers? So, yeah, he was excited to finally take on his former role model.

But there was another reason he wanted to face Natsu. A very blonde reason.

 _I will not go out looking for her,_ he repeated over and over to the moon.

* * *

"So, Lucy, you and Gray seem to be awfully close lately," Cana said around the barrel she was hugging. Lucy blinked at her before taking another shot. How many was this? She was supposed to stop at five. Five had sounded like a good number. Enough to show her celebratory mood without getting her so wasted that she would do something stupid. Like confess her love to Natsu. Again. Or go out looking for a certain other dragon slayer. Nope. Not doing either of those things tonight.

"We've always been close," Lucy told her as she set the empty glass on the table.

"Yeah, but the last couple of days you've been…closer. Yesterday I thought you had permanently merged to his hip."

"He was just trying to get that Sabertooth guy to quit staring at me," Lucy said. Half a second after the words left her mouth, Lucy mentally slapped herself. Maybe she could declare to the guild that she made out with Gray on the first day of the games to derail further questions? Shit, no. Juvia was already glaring water daggers at her from Cana's first comment.

"Oh, what Sabertooth guy?" Cana asked.

"You mean Sting, don't you?" Yukino asked. It took Lucy a moment too long to remember that until yesterday, Yukino had been a member of Sabertooth, too. Yeah, no more shots for her tonight. Yukino worried at her lip as she waited for Lucy's response.

"Um…"

"What about Sting?" Natsu asked. He popped out of nowhere by her shoulder which made Lucy squeak in surprise. "Has he been bothering you again, Luce? I'll kick his ass!"

"No, he hasn't bothered me again," Lucy sighed. She just wanted to sink into the floor and ignore this whole conversation. "Look, can we drop it? At this point I'd almost rather talk about Gray."

"I'm okay with that," Gray said popping up by her other shoulder, eliciting another squeak from Lucy.

"Well, in that case—," Cana started to speak, but she was cut off by a bottle hitting Natsu in the head and bouncing off onto her keg. Natsu instantly pounced in the direction of the bottle and punched Gajeel. Lucy was pretty sure he hadn't been the one to instigate things, but she was grateful for the distraction as the guild was quickly immersed in a classic brawl, despite the master's entreaties to calm down and stop pretending they were in the guildhall. He would get serious about it later and actually put a stop to things, but for now, Lucy used the distraction to slip upstairs to the room she shared with her team.

She sank onto the window seat with a sigh. She was so tired. The games were exhausting even when she wasn't participating. Lucy put her chin in her hand and stared out at the stars until movement below caught her eye. Her gaze flicked down and widened.

"Fucking really?" She muttered.

* * *

Sting had every intention of staying in his room and going to sleep. He really did. But somehow his mantra had failed him and he found himself slipping off the balcony to roam the streets of Crocus.

 _I'm not looking for her_ , he told himself. _I'm just taking a walk because I can't sleep. Just getting some air to clear my head. I am in no way looking for that beautiful blond fairy._

Yet, here he was staring up at an inn, and he was pretty sure it was housing Fairy Tail from the noise level. Well, there was that and the fact that when he looked up he instantly saw a blond figure silhouetted in a third floor window. She didn't notice him at first as she stared at the sky, but as he moved to back away her eyes flicked to him, and he heard her mutter something he couldn't quite make out.

"What do you want?" She whispered loud enough for him to hear from that distance. Without thinking, Sting used the vines crawling up the building's side to boost himself up to crouch on the windowsill.

"Hey, Sunshine," he said.

"Oh good, a new nickname. And I asked what you wanted. I didn't invite you in," she said with a sigh. He could see the exhaustion in the set of her shoulders and the way her head drooped ever so slightly.

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. He didn't move to enter the room any further. He was just relieved to see that no one else was with her. Both remained in silence, and Lucy looked ready to kick him from his perch when he thought of something to say.

"How's Yukino doing?"

Lucy's exhaustion vanished as she got in his face. She grabbed his vest and snarled at him.

"You have no right to ask that after what your guild did to her!"

Sting grabbed her hands, but he didn't try to remove her grip. Instead he used the movement to keep her pinned close to him.

"You think I don't know that? I told you what my guild is, Sunshine. And I stood there and watched it happen."

He offered no apologies or regrets, though there was just a note of guilt in his voice. Lucy tried to wrench her hand away so she could slap him, but he held on. He leaned closer to her so their noses were practically touching. He just stared into her eyes for several moments as he tried to piece together what he wanted to say: why he was here, what he needed her to know about him. Things he didn't even fully understand himself. He wanted to ask her why she wouldn't leave his thoughts, and why she made him second guess things he had accepted a long time ago. He had only encountered her a handful of times, but already she was beginning to undo him.

He started to speak, but the door to the room burst open behind Lucy. Both turned in shock to view the newcomer. Solid black eyes widened in equal shock at the sight before him.

"I thought I smelled you. Now what the hell are you doing with Lucy?" Natsu growled as he stalked towards them.

Reverting to his customary personality, Sting smirked at his former idol before grabbing the blonde's face and pulling her in for a kiss. He kept it too brief for her to respond either negatively or positively. With one last smug glance at Natsu, he jumped from the window and disappeared into the night.

Natsu prepared to leap after him, but Lucy's hand on his chest pushed him back.

"Stop, Natsu. Just let him go." Natsu reluctantly did as she asked and stepped back from the window.

"Lucy, what's going on?" Natsu asked, staring into her eyes. She looked away quickly. He rarely used her actual name, and even though it was just one syllable different, the change still bothered her. She just couldn't look him in the eye. The worst part was, she didn't know herself. What could she say? Oh, he just shows up randomly, insults me, acts like a weirdo, kisses me, and then leaves. Yeah, that would go over really well.

Lucy bowed her head as tears pricked at her eyes. She could feel the anger radiating off of Natsu, quite literally as his body tended to heat up when he was agitated. Lucy turned away from him with a muffled sob and fell onto her bed. She buried her face in the pillow. She just wanted him to leave and pretend he hadn't seen anything. Like he pretended she had never told him she was in love with him. She really couldn't deal with this right now.

The silence in the room stretched out. Just when she thought he must have left without her hearing the door, she felt an entirely too warm body press against her back as arms wrapped around her. Natsu's breath nearly scorched her ear as he whispered to her.

"I don't know what he was doing here, or why he kissed you. But if that fucker gets close enough to leave his scent on you one more time, I will end him. I can deal with you smelling like Gray, but I can't deal with him."

Lucy sank into his embrace. She couldn't help it. Her body and heart had minds of their own when it came to Natsu. She didn't know how to take what he'd said, but she couldn't bother to figure it out tonight. As he silently held her, Lucy tumbled into her first dreamless sleep in three nights.


	12. Chapter 11: Into the Ocean

**A/N: I was really excited to write this scene, and I hope everyone likes. Thanks to all who have RRFF. Special thanks to Lyssore for the incredibly detailed review. Made me so happy!**

* * *

Lucy dove into the globe of water with the other six contestants. With Aquarius, she felt sure to win. As long as the mermaid didn't blast her away with her competitors anyway. Juvia might be a problem, and she knew nothing about the dark-haired woman from Sabertooth other than the fact that the woman needed someone to teach her how to properly do her makeup. The announcer had said she was one of the five strongest from the rival guild, and the crowd seemed to worship her, so she was probably tough.

"Show 'em what you've got, Luce!" Natsu yelled.

"You've got this one, Lucy!" Gray called, as well. Juvia looked stricken and turned to glare at Lucy.

"Once I defeat you, my beloved Gray won't even look at you, Love Rival! Water is my domain," the water mage said. Lucy really wanted to tell her that she wasn't her love rival, but she couldn't say that with complete honesty anymore. Lucy knew that she (and Gray) needed to figure out that whole situation, but for now, she had a battle to win.

"Let the naval battle begin!"

Wasting no time, Lucy summoned Aquarius. She could have swept away everyone easily, but Juvia got in the way. She blocked Aquarius's attack with a water cyclone of her own. Of course, then the mermaid decided to ditch Lucy for her boyfriend. Again.

Lucy summoned Aries and Virgo just in time to keep from getting blasted out of the sphere by Juvia. Her spirits barely helped her stay put as Juvia launched an attack dedicated to her love for Gray. If she hadn't been desperately fighting to maintain two Zodiac gates and swim against an absurdly high current, Lucy might have laughed at the absurdity of Juvia's tactics to win Gray's heart. She really did feel bad for the water mage, and she wished the blue-haired girl would get over the ice wizard. Or at least pick a more subtle tactic with a higher likelihood of success.

When the current died down, Juvia had blasted all but Lucy and Minerva out of the water. As soon as the spell decreased, Lucy had Aries launch her wool bomb at Juvia while the water mage was trying to get a peek at Gray's reaction to her. Caught off guard, Juvia tumbled out of the sphere and onto the ground.

A five minute timer began as Lucy faced off against Minerva.

Sting was nervous watching the final two contestants. He had really hoped that Lucy wouldn't face Minerva. But his conflicted feelings couldn't show here.

"How mischievous of milady," he commented. "Letting the others fight it out so she could conserve her magic."

"That fairy doesn't stand a chance!" Lector declared happily. Sting agreed both aloud and in his head. Outwardly he smiled; it was the only thing he could do.

Still, he couldn't help tensing as he heard Minerva tell Lucy that she intended to put on a show. "Try to survive. And be sure to scream," Minerva said as she directed her power towards the blonde. Sting's hands curled into fists as Lucy's body contorted in pain. Heat radiated from the water globe. He'd been on the receiving end of that power before, and he couldn't believe the celestial mage wasn't screaming like Minerva had told her to.

"You call that heat?" Lucy asked with a shaky laugh when the blast subsided. "Your magic has nothing on my partner's flames. I've been roasted by him enough times to know that no matter how high the temperature gets in here, you'll burn before I will."

"You tell her, Luce," Natsu yelled as he waved a flaming fist in the air. Titania reached over to bring a fist down on his head and reprimanded him for burning Lucy in the past.

Lucy reached for her keys, only to find empty space at her side. Minerva grinned sadistically and held up Lucy's belt, including her whip. The crowd gasped as they realized the celestial mage was defenseless.

Her keys glowed in Minerva's hand as the Sabertooth mage shot another wave of heat at the blonde, apparently intent on calling what could only be a bluff. The whole audience could feel the temperature rising from the globe of water; there was no way the celestial mage was immune to that being right at the center.

The attack missed its target as an orange-haired man in green swim trunks appeared in a flash of light to scoop Lucy into his arms and out of harm's way.

"Did…Did she just summon a celestial spirit without touching her keys?" The announcer asked in shock.

"It appears so," Yajima replied. "I've heard of such a thing, but it's been decades since there was a celestial wizard on record as powerful enough to accomplish it."

"Did Lucy summon him or did Loke open his own gate?" Gray muttered.

"I don't think he would do it on his own in the middle of the games. He knows it could be viewed as cheating. Lucy must have figured out how to summon her spirits without direct contact to their keys," Erza said.

"It's about freaking time," Natsu added. "Maybe now she won't be so easy to kidnap."

"Loke, put me down and show this bitch the light of the Zodiac leader," Lucy said. Loke released her, and his fist began to glow as he entreated for Regulus to lend him his power. He launched a punch at the woman, which she dodged easily.

But Minerva had expected Lucy to sit back and let her spirit handle things. That was her mistake. Minerva dodged the regulus punch, but she dodged straight into Lucy's kick. Lucy hooked a finger into her key ring just as the force of her foot sent Minerva careening towards the edge of the water bubble. Minerva barely managed to stay in the water.

Sting couldn't believe it. The blonde was holding her own. She was legitimately facing off against milady, and she wasn't being tortured to death. He unconsciously sat forward, unable to tear his eyes from the battle. Lector was saying something about Minerva being able to win no problem, but Sting couldn't be bothered to reply as he followed the two women's movements.

Lucy knew she couldn't keep this up much longer. She had to get Minerva out of the water fast. Summoning a spirit without contact with the key took far more power than a normal summons, and a spirit couldn't be forced to answer the call, though she knew Loke would always answer her if he could. She knew that Loke was using some of his own power to supplement hers, but ultimately, he couldn't help like that too much without technically cheating. She was starting to run low. She hoped that summoning one more spirit to help her and Loke fight would end this match. If it was before the five minutes were up, so much the better.

Lucy summoned Sagittarius. He began firing arrows as Loke moved in for hand-to-hand. Lucy pulled out Fleuve d'étoiles and waited for the lion to give her an opening. Before that opportunity came, Minerva lashed out with a dark globe of power, and Loke fell back with a cry before returning to the spirit world. Lucy moved in with her whip, but Minerva dodged the coils and took out Sagittarius at the same time. Even with her keys in hand, Lucy knew she didn't have enough power to summon another Zodiac. She was too beaten up from Minerva's earlier attacks, and summoning five zodiacs back to back and powering their attacks was just too much.

She saw her whip flickering. Lucy managed to lash out and curl the whip around Minerva's wrist, but the Sabertooth woman grabbed it with her opposite hand and tugged. Lucy was pulled to her, and Minerva began pounding her visciously. Lucy's whip flickered out as she couldn't keep up the magic power to feed it. Minerva blasted her with one burst of power after another.

"Had enough?" She asked, pausing for a moment. There was still one minute left on the timer.

"Go on," Lucy said through gritted teeth. "I can take it. You want me to give up? Not gonna happen. Hurt me all you want. I don't give a shit. I am a Fairy Tail mage, and if you and your guild have learned anything about Fairy Tail during these games, kitty cat, it should be that we never give up. That's why we were the number one guild seven years ago. That's why our guild has continued to survive even while so many of us were lost for all those years. And that's why we will be number one again."

Sting wasn't sure what it was about these fairies and their inspirational speeches, but the damn things were really starting to seep through to him. He knew she meant every word. He knew that she would let Minerva beat her to the edge of death before she gave up. These were more than just games to the Fairy Tail wizards.

Unfortunately, Sting was also pretty sure that Minerva would take Lucy up on the offer to beat her senseless.

"Did you just call me a kitty cat?" Minerva asked. Her eyebrow twitched slightly.

"Oh come on, I gave a rousing speech to make my guild cry, and all you heard was my nickname for your stupid members?" Lucy pouted.

Sting heard a sharp inhale behind him and he turned long enough to see Rogue staring with wide eyes. Orga and Rufus were trying to pick their jaws up off the floor. For a moment, Sting thought that he should probably try to act a little surprised, too, but he really couldn't summon the effort. He'd already figured out that Sunshine was good at knocking people down a peg or two, and she didn't care who she did it to.

"Lucy!" Natsu yelled. Sting turned to find the fire dragon slayer holding his hand up in the same symbol the guild had shown to the lightning slayer the previous day. The rest of Fairy Tail quickly followed suit, and a large number of the regular spectators copied the move. The people had always cheered for Sabertooth's power, but the determination of Fairy Tail was winning them over.

Minerva's aura darkened significantly. Still, she didn't move. The buzzer signaled that five minutes had passed.

That was when she flew into action. Minerva hurled bolt after bolt of power at the celestial wizard in quick succession. Lucy screamed in agony, and Natsu yelled her name.

"You need to learn your place," Minerva yelled over Lucy's screams. "We are Sabertooth. The mightiest guild, and we always will be. Your guild belongs to the past, relegated to the grave you had the nerve to crawl out of. And you always will. How dare you try to make a tiger seem like a mere cat."

Sting desperately wanted to cover his ears to block out her screams. Something deep within him roared to go get her out of there, but he stood rooted to the spot. His heart beat wildly, and he felt his magic trying to swirl out of his tightly held control. A hand came to rest on his shoulder, and Sting turned with a snarl.

"You know we can't stop this," Rogue murmured. Distantly, Sting noticed the other two members of his team and the two Exceeds gaping at him, but he really didn't give a shit what they thought right now. His hands curled into fists, and he forced himself to turn back and watch Minerva torturing the blonde. Sunshine's screams ripped at his soul, but if she could survive the pain, he could survive watching it happen.

"Have you learned your lesson or do I need to keep beating it in?" Minerva asked as she kept brutally kicking and punching the Fairy Tail mage. It was doubtful that Lucy could even reply at this point, the way her body was being tossed around like a rag doll, she probably wasn't even conscious. "This is what happens when you defy me!"

"I told you…" Lucy whispered but her words were amplified by the stadium speakers. "Fairy Tail will win… Keep beating me… if you want... Kill me if… you have to. They'll… make you… pay for... every bruise... a thousand times..."

A roar to his right caught his attention. Natsu was being restrained by his teammates, but they were having a hard time keeping him back. Really it was mostly Titania trying to hold him in check as the ice wizard looked equally ready to jump into the arena. Sting smiled at the sight and he felt his magic calming. He couldn't save Sunshine, but maybe Natsu could. As luck had it, Natsu and his team looked up at that moment, and his smile was completely misinterpreted. It didn't help that his teammates Orga and Rufus were looking far too pleased by the match.

Sting was really glad the three glaring at him didn't have any eye magic or he would be a dead man. Their dark gazes held promises of retribution. Sting knew that the message Minerva intended to deliver was a waste; Fairy Tail only saw this as a challenge. They would stop at nothing to bring Sabertooth down now; as if they had needed further motivation.

She had just made everything a thousand times harder, and the bitch was smiling as though she'd already won the games. For the first time since joining Sabertooth, Sting had a feeling that he was on the losing side.

A man in armor began yelling to stop the match before the celestial mage died. And the pumpkin-headed referee quickly complied. As soon as the ref called the match, Gray leaped over the balcony and sprinted towards the water globe. The other three members of his team were right behind him.

Minerva held Lucy out of the water by her neck and smiled evilly before flinging the blonde toward the ground. Natsu and Gray both leaped up, catching her between them and laying her gently on the ground with her head in Gray's lap. Natsu stood protectively over them glaring up at the Sabertooth wizard. Both the sky god and sky dragon slayers ran to begin working on healing Lucy.

Everything inside of Sting urged him to go to her side. But he was still a Sabertooth wizard. What Minerva had done was sick and twisted, but that was her. In a way, that was him, too. He didn't deserve her light, and he had no right to be near it. It was finally sinking in that he never had really, and he probably never would.

"My, my, such scorn and anger coming from you," Minerva said with a smile as she floated down to stand before the other team. "Need I remind you that I was acting fully within the bounds of the rules?"

"What you did was far beyond the bounds of human decency," Erza scoffed as she took a menacing step towards the other woman. Natsu flanked her. Orga and Rufus immediately leaped down and moved in front of Minerva. Sting followed them, but he stayed behind and to the side. The crowd tittered excitedly at the prospect of another battle. Sting knew that if it did come to a fight, all of Fairy Tail would join in, and his team might not be able to defeat them.

Erza placed a restraining hand out in front of Natsu when he moved towards Sting with a growl.

"Know this. Stronger mages than you have made enemies of Fairy Tail. They lived to regret it. Make the same decision, and you will suffer the same fate," Erza said. "Make no mistake, we will deal with you later." With that, she turned back to her wounded comrade, dragging Natsu with her.

As Sabertooth left the field, Minerva said, "Sting, why did you stay back?"

"Surely you don't need me to protect you, milady," he replied with what he hoped was his usual smirk.

Minerva didn't say anything else, but he felt her eyes boring into his back as he headed back to the balcony. Sting knew he would have to try harder to play the role of his former self. After all, there were still the two-on-two battles to come later in the day. And the final game would come the next day. Pushing the thought of Sunshine's broken body from his mind, Sting tried to slip back into his old personality. It fit too tight, like a pair of shoes he had outgrown. For a moment, he wished he could go back in time and never meet the blond mage who had slipped under his skin and started to change his very being.

The moment passed.


	13. Chapter 12: Ch-Ch-Changes

Sting fidgeted in his seat back in the balcony as they waited for the two-on-two matches to begin. He was naturally impatient, but his desire to know how Sunshine was doing just made it harder for him to sit still. Eventually he stood to leave.

"I'm hungry," Sting announced. It wasn't a shocking statement coming from him. He scooped up Lector and headed out of the viewing area. Rogue and Frosch trailed behind him almost out of habit.

"We aren't really getting food, are we?" Rogue asked quietly. Sting just shook his head.

"Good," Rogue said after a few moments. "I have to say I'm a little curious as to how your blonde is doing, too."

"She's not my blonde," Sting replied. He didn't bother asking how Rogue knew that Sting wanted to see Sunshine. The shadow slayer was his brother after all, and Sting knew he hadn't been exactly himself lately. They slipped into the infirmary wing below the stadium. Sting followed his nose to the Fairy Tail room, but he paused outside. There were a lot of people there. He had expected at least one or two, but he could hear and smell at least a dozen. He mentally facepalmed. Of course, this many people would check on her while there was time. He should actually be surprised that the entire guild hadn't crammed themselves into the tiny room.

As he pondered what to do next, a tiny, mostly bald man in a black suit approached the door. Sting thought he looked familiar, but it was only when the man spoke that he realized who it was.

"Hasn't Sabertooth done enough damage for one day?" He asked. His words and expression were calm, but Sting sensed a deep well of anger within the small old man. Something told him that it would be nearly impossible to hide anything from him.

"Too much damage, actually," Sting said. The Fairy Tail master looked surprised at the admission, but his face soon settled back into its original calm, and Sting added, "How is she?"

"I actually haven't visited myself, yet. I was detained by the organizers of the games," he said. He paused and cocked his head to the side as though he were listening to someone or something. "I would recommend that you return later, but I'm guessing it is risky enough for you to be here now. Come on. I'll keep my brats off your backs, but if Lucy doesn't want you here, you will leave immediately and not return. Clear?"

Sting nodded. His gut clenched painfully.

"I will wait out here with the Exceeds," Rogue said. "Don't take too long, or Minerva will begin to question our absence."

As if Sting needed to be reminded. Though he guessed the information may have been intended for Fairy Tail's master. Sting trailed behind Makarov into the infirmary. All members from Team A and B were present, including a few extras, like Yukino. His eyes paused on her white hair before being pulled to the heavily bandaged blonde. Everyone was focused on Lucy who had apparently just woken up. They only noticed Sting when she did.

"What are you doing here, kitty?" She asked him.

"I needed to check up on you, Sunshine," he said.

He felts dozens of angry gazes on him, but he only looked at her. In his head, the only possible outcome for this scene was already playing out. She had never really shown any inclination to continue whatever the hell they were doing. He'd been pushing himself on her, and now, with the backing of her guild, she would put a stop to it for good. She would make some smartass remark and send him away. But this time, he would actually stay out of her life. His world would be darker without her, but it would be better for her really. He didn't blame her in the least.

Instead, she held a hand out to him. Natsu growled, but Lucy shushed him with a look. When Sting still hesitated she said, "I'm still pretty weak right now; don't make me keep holding out my hand like this."

Without noticing his feet move at all, Sting found himself standing by the side of her bed with her small hand in his. His thumb ran over her guildmark in small circles.

"I'm sorry my guildmate is a demented piece of shit, Sunshine," he whispered. She giggled, which made her cough violently. The little sky dragon slayer ran over. Lucy waved her off, but she accepted the glass of water Sting handed from the bedside table.

"I don't blame you, Sting," she whispered. "This isn't your fault. Yeah you can be an ass. Actually, you've been an ass every time I've encountered you. But you've never given me a reason to believe that you're anything like her. You should go before someone from your guild figures out where you are. I don't want you to get into any trouble over me."

She squeezed his hand lightly before pulling her own away. Sting couldn't help leaning down to caress her cheek once before turning to leave.

"Don't ever lose that light, Sunshine," he whispered as he walked out of the infirmary.

Everyone lost their shit as soon as Sting exited. Everyone shouted questions and angry statements until Lucy buried her head under the covers and Makarov yelled for silence.

"Leave the girl alone. She's been through enough for today, and we have business to discuss. The judges have ordered us to form only one team for the remainder of the games so there will still be an even number of teams for the battles this afternoon. We are taking the median score between the two teams, which, rounding down, puts us at 40 points."

People (mostly Natsu) started to protest, but Master silenced them quickly. "There is no discussion. We will do as requested and not complain about it. The team will be Laxus, Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel. I have been informed that Natsu and Gajeel will be fighting the twin dragons of Sabertooth today."

"So that's why you let him in here," Laxus muttered. "Don't you think playing on the kid's guilt is a little dirty, Gramps?"

"I have no idea what you mean, Laxus," Makarov said stoically.

Despite her conversation with Sting, Lucy felt no confliction over who should and would win the match. If it weren't for his guild, Lucy knew that she and the other blonde could eventually become friends, and maybe more given time. But Natsu was… well himself. Sabertooth had given him something to fight about, and Lucy knew her partner wouldn't lose this match.

"Go get 'em, Natsu," she said. He grinned at her.

"I'm all fired up now!"

Everyone laughed and most filtered out of the room to let Lucy rest. Only Yukino, Wendy, Gray, and Natsu stayed by her side as she slept. Finally, Natsu had to leave to get ready for his match. He bent down and whispered in Lucy's ear, "I'll win this one for you, Luce." His lips ghosted over her forehead, and she smiled in her sleep.

Shortly after he left, Lucy woke up properly and blinked sleepily.

"Did I miss the match?" She asked as she rubbed at her eyes.

"No, it should be starting soon, though," Yukino told her. "Lucy, may I ask, what is Sting to you?"

Lucy felt more than saw the others in the room lean in as she looked down at her hands. What was he anyway? Just a handsome guy who kept pursuing her despite her obvious wishes, right? She couldn't articulate even to herself why she hadn't told the guild about her run-ins with the Sabertooth mage. Her team would have been more than willing to act as her personal bodyguard against him. Erza and Natsu both would probably be even more proactive in keeping the guy off her back by going after him directly, games be damned.

But the truth was, she trusted Sting not to push too far. Maybe that was naive of her, and everyone told her she was far too trusting, but she knew bad people when she met them. And Sting didn't feel like a bad person. An asshole, sure. But not a bad guy. Somehow, Lucy felt sure that if she had really put her foot down about not kissing him, he would have accepted that, probably with some inane comment about his awesomeness and her missing out, but she was sure he would have let her go. Well, except the thing the previous night where he did it to piss Natsu off. She was pretty sure he wouldn't have given her a choice on that one. Dick.

Her friends watched as Lucy thought about her answer. Gray's brow furrowed. He already knew he was competing with Natsu for the blonde's affections, but did he seriously need to worry about the Sabertooth jerk, too? Finally, he couldn't take the silence any longer.

"Lucy, you can tell us anything, you know that, right?" Gray said, taking her hand. She smiled at him and nodded.

"I know, I just don't really know how to answer that. I'm sorry, guys. I don't mean to be cryptic. Sting is just... confusing."

The corners of Yukino's mouth twitched up, and Lucy suddenly realized that she had a whole treasure trove of dirt on Sting sitting right in front of her. She wanted to smack herself for being so stupid. Whether or not talking to her guild about Sting was a good idea, that she still didn't know. But not talking to Yukino? Insanity! But she couldn't do it here; not in front of Gray. Besides, the match should be starting soon.

"We can talk about it later. Come on. Let's go watch the match," Lucy said as she tried to climb out of bed.

"Lucy, what are you doing?" Wendy squealed. "You need rest, you can't just go running around to see Natsu beating somebody up."

"I hardly call sitting with my guild to watch a match running around," Lucy said with a smile. "Besides, I won't get any rest at all sitting here wondering what's happening. At least if I can see it unfold in front of me, maybe I won't worry about him as much. I know that he'll win, but I need to see it for myself."

"You have a great deal of faith in him," Yukino said. She moved to help Lucy stand despite Wendy's protests.

"Of course, I do," Lucy said. She grunted a bit as a bruise on the bottom of her foot made itself known. "He's been my partner for so long now. He's the one who brought me to Fairy Tail, and he's never let me down."

"Flame Brain doesn't know the meaning of defeat," Gray said. "I may not always get along with the moron, but he is powerful. And Gajeel is literally made of iron."

"Still, the twin dragons are very strong," Yukino said. "They were the reason I joined Sabertooth. Rogue Cheney and Sting Eucliffe, the strongest dragon slayers in Fiore."

"Yeah, well, that was when everyone thought we were dead," Lucy said. Yukino helped Lucy pull her shirt on over her stiff shoulders and bulky bandages. "But Natsu and Gajeel will remind them who the strongest dragon slayers really are. It might seem like Rogue and Sting have had seven extra years of training on them, but given that they're actually about Wendy's age without the seven year stasis, I would say it's more like they've had seven years to try to catch up."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Wendy said quietly. She had given up protesting and was now helping to finish dress the wounded blonde. "I wonder if I'll be as strong as they are now in another seven years."

"Wendy, you'll be far stronger. They didn't have Gajeel and Natsu, or even Erza and Laxus, to help push them. It sounds like they've been the strongest members of Sabertooth since the guild formed, or at least since they joined. Without other, stronger mages forcing them to push their limits, there's no way they've reached their full potential," Lucy said. She half-hoped that Natsu and Gajeel wouldn't embarrass the other duo too badly. Then again, while Sting seemed to be making progress, she was sure that his ego could still stand to deflate a bit.

Gray picked her, and she sank into his chest gratefully as they made their way to the guild viewing balcony. She was pretty sure she could have walked on her own, but it was still nice to be close to him. And this way maybe she wouldn't fall asleep during the match.

When Lucy appeared, the guild gazed at her in shocked silence for a moment before cheering loudly, which brought all eyes in the stadium to them. Lucy saw her face appear on the giant lacrimas overhead, so she smiled and waved. A general cheer sounded through the stadium. She risked a glance at the Sabertooth balcony. Minerva scowled fiercely. Sting wasn't there, so she guessed he was downstairs preparing to enter the arena.

Gray settled her into a seat between Levy and Yukino before heading back to the team balcony. Lucy smiled and chatted with her friends as they all got ready to watch the long-awaited match.

* * *

 **A/N: It's 40 points because with my change of Lucy winning against Flare, Team A would have 45 points before having to merge with Team B, and there's no way in hell that Makarov would accept having to take the 36-point score of Team B instead.**

 **You know what's coming next! I really hope I can do their fight some justice. Cocky Sting is going to be back with a vengeance, so I hope you guys are as excited about that as I am. Thanks for RRFF, and I'll post for you soon!**


	14. Chapter 13: I Promise

Sting stepped into the arena with his cocky smirk firmly in place. Sure he was slowly growing to hate the guild he'd helped create, and yeah he still felt bad about how beat up Sunshine was. But he'd been waiting for this day for years. Today, he was finally going to keep his promise to Lector to defeat Natsu in front of the world. Sure it was a stupid promise, and it meant more to the cat than it did to him, but Sting was a man of his word, even when that word was given as a kid. Plus, beating the shit out of one of the guys who kept hanging all over Sunshine was going to feel really good.

He and Rogue stood across from the Fairy Tail slayers. He glanced into the stands, and he was surprised to see Sunshine, heavily bandaged but upright, holding tightly to Yukino's hand. In a way, it helped having her there. He knew she was going to be cheering for the fire idiot, but knowing that she was alright meant he could really let his guilt slide to the back burner and go all out.

When the buzzer sounded, Sting and Rogue leaped into a coordinated attack against their idols. The two had been fighting side by side for so long that they could predict each other's moves and react without thinking. Natsu and Gajeel clearly didn't have that sort of camaraderie. Once Sting and Rogue's attacks pushed them into each other, and the two instantly turned to glare.

"Get out of my way!" They yelled at each other.

"Your fight's with us, but honestly if you just want to save us the trouble, by all means, take each other out," Sting told them. When they refocused their attention on him instead of each other, he sent a punch of holy light at Natsu. The fight ranged all over the arena with the upper hand switching sides constantly until Rogue and Sting activated their white and shadow drives. When Gajeel managed to nab Rogue out of the air even in his shadow form, Sting decided he needed to end this quickly.

"Dragon slayer secret art: White Nova!" He yelled. The arena erupted into a burst of white light and magic power. But when his vision cleared, his fist rested in Natsu's unharmed open palm.

"He stopped the attack with one hand!" The announcer said in awe.

Natsu glared. He looked ready to say something, but he was interrupted by Rogue being thrown into Sting's back. The two ended up flat on their faces a short time later, but they both climbed to their feet with rekindled determination.

"I made a promise. And I intend to keep it," Sting said. He heard Lector cheer, which made him smile. It was a stupid promise, but it mattered to his friend. "Besides, I've got a bet to win."

"What bet? We didn't make a bet," Natsu said. His brow furrowed in confusion.

"No, but Sunshine and I made a bet on the games a few days ago. I'm going to beat you today. Then Sabertooth will win. And then she's mine," Sting said. Up in the stands, Lucy facepalmed. She had forgotten about their bet. Of course he still expected it to be on. His actions earlier in the day were just a minor deviation from his real asshole personality after all.

"What does he mean?" Yukino asked to her right. Sting's guild and the rest of the crowd had no idea who he was talking about, but a lot of Lucy's guildmates had been in the room with her when Sting visited, and everyone had noticed the slightly weird but oddly apt nickname he had used for her. Lucy shrugged in what she hoped was a nonchalant manner.

"It's like he said. We made a bet."

"But what does he mean that you'll be his?" Cana asked over her shoulder.

"If Sabertooth wins, he gets me for a day," Lucy said. "That was the terminology. We didn't really talk about specifics."

"Oh, I can imagine specifics. But what about Gray?" Cana asked. "And Natsu?"

"What does Gray have to do with this?"

Their conversation was derailed by a particularly loud cheer from the crowd. Sting had activated his dragon force. He heard some of the fairies in the stands talking about it, and he was distantly surprised that Fairy Tail knew what it was. Natsu couldn't access it, could he? No matter. Sting would win either way.

"You really should have left her out of this, Sting," Natsu said as his aura darkened. Sting felt a shiver run up his spine, but he quickly shook it off. No, Natsu couldn't possibly match his power level. Sting smirked. He had this in the bag now that he'd revealed his trump card.

"Hang back, Rogue. I can deal with this fairy trash." With that he unleashed a roar that blasted a hole in the floor of the arena, dumping Gajeel and Natsu into it. He followed quickly. Rogue wasn't going to be pleased that he was being left out, but Sting had to prove that he was better. Not only did he have to win, he had to win big.

"I'm gonna show you two how a real dragon slayer fights," Sting said as light gathered between his palms. "Holy blades!" Spears of white light pierced the Fairy Tail slayers, and brought them to the ground. Both lay still as the crowds cheers filtered down to them. Rogue came to stand behind his partner.

"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be," Sting said with a tilt of his head. He'd expected at least a little more fight out of them even with his dragon force.

"Change is inevitable. And there's the proof. The era of the first generation slayer is over," Rogue said.

"Yeah, sure," Sting said. He actually thought Rogue was being more than a little melodramatic, but that was just the shadow slayer's way. Either way, he'd kept his promise. _Sorry, Sunshine_ , he thought. He turned to his fallen opponents. "Good fight, guys. But you're just no match for me."

"Natsu! Get your ass up. Quit playing around," Lucy yelled. She knew he'd hear her somehow, even several meters below the ground. He always heard her. Those around her looked at her in shock. She glared back at them.

"Don't you guys have the faith in him and Gajeel that I do? It'll take more than that to keep those two idiots down," Lucy said with a sniff. She shrugged "Besides, Natsu hasn't even actually used his flames, yet. You know he can't go through a fight without burning something."

Her guildmates smiled in agreement, but quickly turned back to the screens as the crowd gasped and a pink head of hair on the screen began to stand. Sting and Rogue gaped at him.

"You're right, Luce," Natsu said as he pounded a fist covered in flames into his open hand. "I guess it's time for me to show you two a real light show."

Gajeel also rose slowly to his feet and smirked as his arm became a wicked iron club. "Kids these days got no respect for their elders. But Bunny Girl's right. No more playing with the toddlers."

"You guys are tough, but now we know all your little secrets. Your timing, the way you stand when you defend, even your breathing."

"This is impossible," Sting yelled. "I used my dragon force on you. How the hell are you standing?"

"Don't get me wrong; I feel like I got trampled by Erza after smashing her cake. But I've had worse."

"He's bluffing," Rogue declared as he tried to figure out what Erza Scarlet and cake had to do with anything.

"Psh, Natsu isn't smart enough to bluff," Gajeel said with a smirk.

"Let's see you say that to my face, Iron Breath!"

"I just did say it to your face, moron."

As if they didn't even remember the twin dragons were there, Gajeel and Natsu started flailing at each other and bickering. Sting and Rogue watched open-mouthed until Natsu suddenly tipped Gajeel into a nearby mine cart and flipped a switch to send him away. The iron slayer desperately tried to get out of the cart, but his motion sickness kicked in, and he rolled off into the darkness.

Turning back to his opponents with a smirk, Natsu held a hand out in front of him and fire came up to spell out a challenge across his fingertips.

"Trust me, I don't need him to help me make a point. My family's up there cheering for me, and you aren't the only one who made a promise. There's a particular blonde up there waiting for me to kick your ass, so I can't have the metal head getting in the way of that. And now it looks like I have to help her win that bet because there's no way in hell that I'm letting you have her."

As Natsu's first flame attack hit him in the chest, Sting thought, _Sunshine was right. Minerva's heat has nothing on this._ He and Rogue fought with everything they had, shadows and light swirling around the cavern, but nothing seemed to touch the other dragon slayer as flames flared throughout the room.

"See, Yukino?" Lucy said softly. "Natsu may have been in stasis for seven years while they were getting stronger, but the twin dragons don't have his ability to match his opponent's power levels and then surpass them. He's never really lost when he had something to fight for in all the time I've known him."

Yukino nodded absently as she watched the match. She felt a little sad thinking about her former guildmates. She could already tell that the aftermath of this fight would not be pleasant for them.

The stadium held its collective breath as the twin slayers boosted and began to merge their power for a unison raid. As the power reached its highest point, Master Makarov lifted his hand with finger and thumb extended. It was a sight that never failed to inspire. Natsu couldn't see them, but Lucy and the rest of guild followed their master's motion, showing the crowd that no matter the outcome of this match, Fairy Tail was a unified front. Granted, Fairy Tail was also pretty sure what the outcome would be, but playing to the crowd couldn't hurt.

The unison raid exploded towards Natsu, and he just stood in front of it before yelling "Fire Dragon Secret Art: Exploding Flame Blade" right as the power reached him. His attack cut through the twin slayer's magic and hit them with the full force of Natsu's flames. The cavern wall behind them exploded, as well. They staggered for a moment before both members of Sabertooth slowly collapsed.

 _Sorry, Lector_ , Sting thought, _at least Natsu was able to keep his promise. Sunshine wanted me to lose. Of course she did, she's a fairy. And I'm a tiger. Scratch that, definitely feeling like a kitty cat right now._

He groaned quietly and had one final clear thought before everything went dark. _Tonight's going to suck._

* * *

 **A/N: I kind of wanted to rewrite this one, but eh, I'll let it stand because I'm too busy working on the completely breaking away from canon stuff that's coming up soon. Thanks to NoirShip, Lyssore, and xXCelestialGoddessXx for reviews, and thanks to everyone else who had faved and followed :)**


	15. Chapter 14: Cut the Cord

Yup, this royally sucked.

Sting and Rogue were covered in bandages and standing in front of Master Jiemma. Sting had never been particularly afraid of the man or his wicked glare. Minerva was way more terrifying than her father. Still, he felt extremely nervous under the man's furious gaze tonight. He remembered an instance not long after killing his dragon. He stood on a cliff feeling the loss flood him. A river stretched out below him, but it was so far down that it looked like nothing more than a shimmering ribbon in the late afternoon sun. Wind tossed his hair and clothes around his small frame as he made his decision. Stay locked in the pain but safe. Or take the leap and hope he survived. Remain in the past or step forward to the future.

Tonight felt the same.

After several minutes of tense silence, the big man began laughing. It was not a pleasant sound. His laugh was laced with derision and mockery. Sting could practically feel the answering smirks coming from some of his guildmates. Oh hell, no. This fool was not laughing at him. The giant had to be rescued from Natsu by his fucking daughter, and he had the nerve to laugh at someone who'd actually gone toe-to-toe with the fire dragon slayer?

Sting scowled. Seeing his expression, Jiemma stopped laughing.

"Is there something you want to say, Sting?" He asked menacingly. Sting remained silent. He was ready for the man to get to whatever punishment he had planned and be done with it. Sting was half-hoping that his punishment would be the same as Yukino's. The cliff memory returned at the thought.

"What about you, Rogue?" Jiemma asked as it became obvious Sting wasn't going to react further to his goading.

"Natsu was more powerful than we predicted," Rogue said with a minute shrug. "I'm not sure that he can be defeated."

 _What the hell is he thinking?_ Sting wondered as he cast a glance at his partner. As soon as the words left Rogue's mouth, Jiemma was on his feet in front of them, crushing the stone steps beneath his heels.

"Is that so?" Jiemma said, his voice low and angry. He looked as though he might attack the twin dragon slayers, but he kept his fists in check. _Smart move_ , Sting thought. "Or is it just that you are too weak? I never expected the two of you to embarrass my guild like this. With all your boasting about being true dragon slayers. You aren't worth my time. Now, get out of my sight. And don't come back."

Sting felt the air leave him in a whoosh. He really shouldn't be internally fistpumping right now, but he was. All he wanted to do was rub that pathetic guildmark off of his shoulder and get the hell out of there. Rogue didn't seem particularly put out about the situation, either, though it was difficult to tell. Sting would just have to find out his feelings on the subject later.

Unfortunately, Sting had another friend who wasn't in quite the same state of mind. Sting's head whipped up and he dropped his sleeve where he had been preparing to remove his guildmark as he heard Lector trying to talk Jiemma out of excommunicating them. He remembered the cliff again. Back then, he hadn't jumped himself. He had been knocked over the side by a red flying cat. Sting began moving towards his Exceed friend before his mind even registered that the dumb feline was showing the mark on his back to Jiemma. And he had thought Rogue's comment earlier was stupid.

"Lector!" Sting yelled. He barely reached the cat and shielded him with his body before Jiemma's magic burst around them. It was similar to the heat of Minerva's attacks, but Sting now knew there was something far hotter and more painful.

When the air cleared, he heard a few people gasp to see him still standing there clutching Lector. Sting sat his friend on the ground and turned to face Jiemma.

"How dare you attack my friend," he growled. "Natsu was right when he attacked us the other night. One defeat and then done? Alright, let's see if you follow your own rules."

Without any further warning, Sting launched a fist covered in white light at the Sabertooth master. The giant man blocked, but Sting kept pushing him back with blow after blow, not really giving Jiemma any time to retaliate. Sting's head began to throb beneath his bandages; he still wasn't at full strength from his fight a few hours ago, but he had enough for this. He kicked Jiemma to send him crashing into the wall, and before the man could stand, he sent a devastating white dragon's roar at him that left the giant bruised, bleeding, and unconscious.

A high-pitched laugh behind him broke Sting's attention from his former master.

"So be it," Minerva said. "It's the Sabertooth way that he established after all. Jiemma is clearly not fit to rule here."

"Whatever, Minerva," Sting said, deliberately calling her by her name for once. He turned to look for Rogue and the Exceeds so they could leave. "I'm not a member of this guild anymore, so I really don't care what you people do."

"Oh but Sting, you still bear the Sabertooth mark," Minerva said. He didn't like the glint in her eyes. He may have defeated Jiemma, but the giant's daughter had always been another thing entirely, something more terrifying though less outwardly dangerous.

"Right, let me fix that," Sting said. He pulled up his shirtsleeve, but before he could remove the mark, Minerva's voice stopped him.

"I can't let you do that. We still need to win the games tomorrow. And besides, your feline friend doesn't want to leave."

His eyes snapped back to her at that, and he found Lector unconscious in her arms. His mind went back to a similar sight with a blue cat and a pink-haired dragon slayer. Shit.

"Let him go," Sting said. He desperately bit back the growl that wanted to come out. He needed to play this right. He'd saved Lector once tonight, but he needed to do it again. He felt more than saw Rogue come up to his side.

"There's no need for this, Minerva. Your guild is perfectly capable of winning the games without us," Rogue said. He gripped Frosch tightly.

"Oh, but it will be so much easier with the twin slayers. My father was a fool for trying to let you go. As if I would let you run to Fairy Tail to find your little girlfriends. You are my slayers," Minerva purred.

Sting's chest tightened. He wasn't too surprised that she knew about Sunshine. He hadn't done that great at hiding it after all. Mentioning the bet in the middle of the arena for everyone to hear probably wasn't his best idea, but his cocky ass wanted to rile up Natsu. At least he'd succeeded in that. But she said girlfriends. Plural.

"There's no reason to threaten them, either," Rogue said, his voice dropping an octave so that it rumbled through the room.

"Of course not," Minerva said with a smile. "Help me win the games tomorrow, and I'll let Sting have his little friend back. And, I'll even let you leave the guild peacefully after it's over. Provided of course that you never join another guild."

Sting couldn't hold back the growl anymore.

"Or, you give me back Lector and I promise not to kill you, bitch," he snarled. Orga and Rufus moved as if to block him from Minerva, but she just shook her head.

"Sting, Sting, whatever will it take to get this through your head?" She tossed a black ball in the air with one hand and Lector with the other. The cat disappeared into the black sphere.

"Where did you send him?" Sting yelled.

"Somewhere safe," Minerva replied. "Somewhere that you cannot reach him without my help. Help me, and I will help you, Sting. Defy me, and what I did to your 'Sunshine' will be nothing compared to what I'll do to the rodent."

An image of Sunshine's limp form tossed to the ground from the giant sphere of water flitted through his mind. Lector couldn't take half of what Minerva had done to the blonde. His shoulders sagged.

"Fine. I'll win the games for you tomorrow," Sting said through gritted teeth.

Minerva's smile reminded him a little of his dragon's, but without any of Wesslogia's warmth.

"Good."

The guild dispersed slowly once the show was over. Minerva instructed a couple of members to remove Jiemma, but only after she had erased the Sabertooth mark from his forehead. Sting didn't know or care where they were taking him. Once everyone else filtered out, he turned to Rogue.

"It's not likely that we'll win tomorrow," he said.

"We have to try. Lector isn't the only one in danger," Rogue replied. He was still clutching Frosch to him.

"Fairy Tail will protect Sunshine and Yukino. You can bet on that," Sting said. "Still, it would be easier for them if they knew the girls were in danger."

"Minerva will know we've been there."

"I know," Sting said as he ran a hand through his hair. He looked down at Frosch. "But she won't think to watch Frosch. If it was Lector with us, she might keep tabs, but she's thinks Fro is stupid."

"Frosch isn't stupid," Rogue said with a glare.

"You and I know that, but Minerva doesn't," Sting said. He brought his face level with the green Exceed and rubbed his head. "Fro, I have a mission for you, buddy."

* * *

 **A/N: So, still canon-y for now and most of the next chapter. Thanks for follows and faves, and NoirShip, I'm glad you're enjoying it :)**


	16. Chapter 15: Wannabe

As Gray dropped his arm around Lucy's shoulders, she habitually glanced around looking for the water mage. Gray chuckled.

"She's out with Lyon. I couldn't tell if it was her choice or not, but I'm not worried. Lyon's a prick, but he won't force himself on her."

Lucy exhaled a sigh of relief and settled into him. She knew the gossipy guild would be buzzing about them, but she didn't really care right now. She needed the comfort. Natsu hadn't spoken a word to her after the match. He was obviously avoiding her, and Lucy couldn't think why. Surely he wasn't mad about the bet with Sting? He'd beaten the guy, shown his superiority, or whatever.

"Don't let him get to you, Lucy. Natsu just doesn't know how to deal with emotions like this," Gray said. Lucy turned slightly so she could look him in the face.

"What do you mean?"

"Considering that I'm trying to win your affections away from him, I should probably not be telling you this, but you're my friend above anything else. Natsu has no idea how he feels about you. He doesn't know what romantic love is. He gets physical urges just like anyone else, but he doesn't really get how that ties into your friendship. Throw in dragon instincts that are telling him not to let any other slayer near you, and the guy is a complete wreck."

Lucy just stared at the ice wizard for several moments as she tried to process his words.

"How do you know all this?" She finally asked.

"Eavesdropping on his conversations with Lisanna mostly."

"That…That actually makes a lot of sense," Lucy said slowly. Then she sighed and settled herself more comfortably against Gray. "Well, he better figure it out soon if he wants a shot. It's not like he's my only option."

"I think that might be making it more difficult for him, honestly."

"In the end, I believe that Natsu just wants you to be happy, no matter what your choices are, Lucy." Both Gray and Lucy jumped as Erza spoke behind them. They hadn't realized anyone was listening in on their conversation. Erza took a seat across from them.

"I guess all of this kind of explains what he said the other night," Lucy mused to herself.

"The night he was sleeping next to you?" Erza asked. Lucy hadn't realized anyone knew. She had woken up in the middle of the night alone, so she figured that Natsu had moved before anyone else came in. "What did he say?"

"He told me he could take Gray's scent being on me, but not Sting's."

"Probably the dragon instincts," Gray agreed.

The bar door opened, and they looked up to see who was coming in. The door shut again without anyone appearing, so they turned back to their discussion. Lucy thought she heard someone cooing and yelling "so cute!" just before someone tugged on her skirt. She glanced at the ground to see a little green cat in a pink frog costume.

"Hi, there," Lucy said. "You're Rogue's friend aren't you? Are you lost?"

"Fro's not lost. Fro's on a mission from Sting," the Exceed said proudly.

"What does he want?" Natsu growled. He had materialized at Lucy's side at the mention of the white dragon slayer.

"Fro is supposed to tell Miss Sunshine and her friends that Miss Sunshine and Miss Yuki are in danger." The Exceed was smiling, but Lucy was pretty sure that's just how his face always looked.

"In danger from whom?" Erza asked. Fro's brow furrowed as he tried to remember exactly what he was told to say. He couldn't remember quite everything, so he decided to just tell them what happened earlier.

"Milady took Lector, so Sting and Rogue would have to fight tomorrow. If they lose, she'll hurt Lector." Frosch started crying. "She said she wouldn't let Sting and Rogue go to their girlfriends in Fairy Tail. Rogue is worried Miss Yuki will be hurt. Fro doesn't want her to beat up Miss Sunshine again, either."

"Milady?" Gray asked.

"I believe I heard that god slayer Orga refer to Minerva that way," Erza said.

Happy walked up to Frosch and put a paw on his shoulder.

"You don't have to worry about Lucy and Yukino," Happy said. "Natsu will burn anybody who tries to touch either of them."

"That's right!" Natsu said a little too enthusiastically. Despite the fact that the threat came from Minerva, Lucy had a hunch her partner was actually thinking about Sting.

"Minerva is incredibly strong," Yukino said quietly. No one had heard her approach, though now that Lucy was looking around, they seemed to have the whole guild's attention. "Her brutality against Lucy was only a small taste of her power and cruelty. She is the daughter of Master Jiemma."

"Oh! Fro remembers now. Sting beat Master, so Minerva is running the guild."

"But if she's taking over the guild, she can't compete in the games tomorrow," Lucy said.

"I have a hunch that she will find a way," Erza said.

Frosch said goodbye to the Fairy Tail members shortly after that. He let Yukino hug him before trotting out the door.

Just after he left, Gajeel finally reappeared. He punched Natsu in the face for the mine cart incident before dropping into a seat next to Erza. Seeing that the expected brawl was not going to commence, the rest of the guild went back to drinking and celebrating.

"I ran into Mystogan," Gajeel whispered gruffly.

"Any news on the dark energy?" Erza asked.

"Yes and no. He's sensed it around the games the last two days, but he's had no luck actually tracking it. Whoever it is, they keep giving him the slip. But, he did mention it was strongest today when Bunny was getting beat all to hell."

"I've had worse," Lucy said lightly. Gajeel's eyes narrowed, but he nodded.

"I know." A heavy silence settled. Gajeel had already apologized for his actions when he was with Phantom Lord. Lucy had already forgiven his past transgressions. They didn't really need to say anything more, so for them the silence wasn't truly uncomfortable. It was the people around them who felt the tension most. Gajeel was part of their family and had truly repented, but that didn't mean it wasn't still a sore spot, even if it had been technically well over seven years since the incident.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to keep an eye out. Particularly on Sabertooth. I don't like this information the little Exceed brought us. Minerva is a fool to take on Fairy Tail, but she is otherwise a formidable and intelligent opponent," Erza finally said. Gajeel raised a questioning brow, and she quickly explained their visitor.

"Hmmph. If the pussy cats want to tangle, we'll show them just how tough fairies can be," Gajeel said with a smirk.

"Indeed," Erza nodded. "But if the Zeref-like energy is centered around her, we could have bigger problems than determining who is the number one guild in Fiore."

Lucy shivered. Though Minerva's actions certainly screamed evil, the blonde hadn't noticed any feeling of darkness in her magic, just pure power. Still, she wasn't as acquainted with the taint of Zeref as Jellal was.

"Well, we can do no more with this information tonight," Erza said as she stood. "For now, we should focus on finishing the games. All those competing tomorrow should turn in to get as much rest as possible." She looked pointedly at Gray and Natsu. The two grumbled, but headed to their room. Gray dropped a kiss on Lucy's hair before unwinding his arm from her shoulders. Erza and Gajeel followed them. Lucy considered doing the same, but she found herself surrounded by three giggling girls.

"Alright, spill it," Cana said with a shit-eating grin. "All the details. Nothing left out."

"There's nothing to tell," Lucy said with a sigh.

"That's not what it looked like to me," Mira said with a gleam in her eyes.

"Yeah, Lucy, you can't honestly expect us to believe that was just brotherly affection after the way he's been hanging all over you for the past few days," Lisanna chipped in.

Lucy debated summoning a spirit to distract them while she made her escape, but as she thought about it more, Lucy realized she really could use some advice from the self-proclaimed queens of romance. Lifting her hands in surrender, she began filling them in on Gray's confession the first day as well as his apparent decision to push Natsu from her thoughts if he could.

"Natsu doesn't seem to view him as a threat, though," Lisanna said with a finger on her chin as she pondered the ceiling.

"It's weird, right? If Sting even looks at me, Natsu goes all dragon guarding his hoard, but Gray can hang on me all day, and Natsu doesn't even blink."

"Speaking of, what's the deal with Sting anyway?" Cana asked. Once again, Lucy didn't have a real answer. "I mean, that bet for one thing. Why did you even make that bet? Doesn't seem like your style."

"It's not," Lucy admitted. "I just… I don't know. I was angry that he was trash talking the guild. And he just… He affects me somehow. He gets under my skin. In a really irritating way. When I met him, I didn't know who he was. He was just some jerk in an alley, but I kissed him anyway. I want to blame the booze, but I know that's not the whole story."

Lucy dropped her head to the table and spoke to the rough wood. "Ugh! I don't know what's going on!"

"Okay, let's lay it all out," Mira said. Lucy kept her head on the table. "You love Natsu, but you have no idea how he feels about you because he doesn't know himself. Gray loves you, but you don't feel as strongly about him, but you think that you could at some point. And Sting is a complete left field weird case of attraction, but he's an asshole, except he's also obviously worried about your safety."

"That about sums it up, I guess," Lucy sighed.

"Well, the solution is obvious," Mira said. Lucy groaned, fearing what was going to come out of the demon's mouth.

"You just have to be with all of them!" There it was. Mira had traveled all the way to crazy town.

"Um, sis, I don't think that's really going to work," Lisanna said. "For one thing, I don't think the guys would be okay with that."

Lucy thought of Natsu's reactions to Sting already, and she snorted. Nope, that wouldn't go over well at all.

"Well, it is obvious that Love Rival should stay away from Gray," a dark voice said. Lucy didn't even have to turn around to know that Juvia had returned without them noticing and overheard at least part of the conversation. She couldn't deal with that ball of crazy on top of the rest. If she decided Gray was the man for her, Juvia certainly wasn't going to stop her. She had tried to befriend the water mage repeatedly, but Juvia's fixation on Gray made that nearly impossible with Lucy being so close to him.

"I think I'm going to head to bed, too," Lucy said. Her three friends gave her understanding looks as Lucy made her way upstairs. She reached the top before a soft hand touched her arm.

"Lucy, I don't know Natsu and Gray very well, so I can't really say anything about your relationship with them," Yukino said in her soothing voice. Very little seemed to ruffle the white-haired woman. "However, I do know something of Sting. Or rather, I thought I did."

"What do you think I should do about that situation?" Lucy asked with real interest.

"A few days ago, I would have said to run as fast and far as you can away from him. However, I have noticed a different side to him when you are involved. Something I never thought existed. It is possible that he really does, or at least is beginning to, harbor real feelings for you. If Natsu does not return your affections, and you do not feel as strongly for Gray as he does for you, I would say, perhaps, Sting deserves a chance."

"That's a couple of really big 'ifs,'" Lucy said with a small smile.

"Yes, I suppose so," Yukino replied with a small laugh. "I think everything will work out in the end, Lucy. It's not as if you have to have all of the answers tonight."

Lucy nodded and thanked the other woman before heading to her room. Team Natsu was still sharing a room, despite the team changes. Wendy was curled up with Carla in one bed quietly sleeping while the other three snored loudly. Lucy shook her head at the familiar noise and crawled into her own bed without bothering to change. The games would be over tomorrow. She could figure everything else out after that.

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter ended up kind of filler-y, but I think it had a couple of important bits to warrant posting anyway. Also, I'd like to note that I actually love Juvia, but she's not super important to this story other than adding to the Love Square issues. Hope it wasn't too slow. The exciting stuff will come in next time, and brief warning ahead of time, there's not going to be a whole lot in the way of following canon after this. Don't forget to RRFF if you like what I'm doing (or even if you don't, really)!**


	17. Chapter 16: Before the Damned

The Fairy Tail team hovered around first master Mavis as she detailed their strategy for the final game: a battle royale through the streets of Crocus. She had nearly completed her spiel when Wendy and Lisanna dashed into the room.

"Has anyone seen Lucy or Yukino?" Wendy asked breathlessly.

"We can't find them!" Lisanna added, clutching her side. "Yuki was gone when I woke up this morning, and Wendy said that Lucy was, too."

"I thought maybe she got up with you guys, and came here, so I was hoping you'd know," Wendy finished. Both girls wheezed a bit as they had run all the way to the stadium after finding no sign of the girls at the inn. Freed had placed runes around both rooms the night before to prevent an attack, and the girls had agreed to always stay with at least one other person.

"Lucy's bed was empty when we left, but the bathroom light was on," Erza replied. She looked stricken and very guilty. "I should have checked to be sure that she was in there. I just felt sure that with Freed's runes..."

Everyone stilled. Then, Gray and Natsu began babbling over each other angrily, preparing to go search for the girls.

"Calm down!" Mavis yelled and stamped a foot on the table where she had been sitting. "Most likely this is a plot by Sabertooth. They will expect us to give up the games to search for Lucy and Yukino."

"Of course we are!" Gray shouted as Natsu seconded the motion.

"No. If that really is what is happening, Minerva will most likely not hurt them," Erza said. She silently added _, I hope_. "We must continue as if nothing is amiss. So we may unnerve her."

"Not happening," Natsu said coldly. "We have a backup member, right? Put Juvia or Mira in. I'm going to look for Lucy."

"Same here," Gray said.

"No," Natsu said. "We only get one back up. Which means you have to stay and help win the games. I'll coordinate with Master to get a small team together to look for Lucy and Yukino. You guys have to keep Sabertooth distracted with the games while we search the city."

"There will be recording lacrimas all over the city for the competition. There's no way you'll get away without being seen, and we can't afford for the game organizers to think we're cheating," Laxus said gruffly.

"Use the tunnels under the city," Gajeel said. "I found them after the flame idiot sent me off in that damn cart. You can move around without being seen that way."

"I can't smell her if I'm underground," Natsu protested.

"Does anyone have a communication lacrima handy?" Erza asked. Laxus produced one from his coat pocket. Erza focused her magic, and Master Bob of Blue Pegasus appeared.

"Erza, darling, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Greetings, Master Bob. Is Hibiki around? I must speak with him rather urgently."

"They're preparing for the game. I'm afraid I can't disturb them." Master Bob preened a bit as Laxus grabbed the lacrima from Erza.

"This isn't a social call, Master Bob," Laxus practically growled. Master Bob shivered, and the rest of the Fairy Tail members around the table grimaced slightly. "Two of our members have been taken. We believe it's the work of Sabertooth, but we have no proof. We need to find them, and we need Hibiki's help."

"But how can he help?" Master Bob asked. Laxus glanced up at Erza.

"We need him to use Archive to give us a mental layout of the tunnels beneath Crocus," Erza replied. Master Bob narrowed his eyes at her.

"How do I know this isn't your way of trying to get an edge in the competition?"

"On my honor as a warrior and a Fairy Tail mage," Erza said, placing a mailed fist on her chest. "We merely wish to find our family members, unharmed."

After a moment of staring intently at Erza, Master Bob nodded. "Very well. I'll fetch him."

As they waited, Mavis let out a screech. Everyone looked at the first master worriedly as she held her head in her hands.

"Now I have to come up with a new strategy and teach it to all of you in less than an hour!" She wailed.

* * *

Less than an hour later, the Fairy Tail team stood in their appointed place in an empty square in Crocus. Juvia had taken Natsu's place as Mira insisted on helping to search for her adopted younger sister.

Lisanna, Wendy, Freed, and all three Exceeds completed the search party. Master feared that any more members missing would be noticed. They found an entry point near the guild, planning to make their way underground towards Sabertooth's inn to begin the search. Freed thought it unlikely that the celestial mages would be kept there as it was too obvious and too risky for Sabertooth, but it was the best starting point they could think of.

Once underground, Natsu immediately threw the plan out the window as he caught Lucy's faint scent. He took off running with the others trailing behind. Finally, Mira transformed into her Satan Soul to fly forward and tackle him.

"Natsu, what are you doing?" She growled at him.

"I smell Luce. And Yukino. They took them through the tunnels," he said as he desperately tried to break the takeover mage's grip.

"Next time, say so instead of just running off," Mira said angrily as she transformed back. She let him up but kept a hand on his arm. "There's no reason to rush into anything. We don't know what's waiting for us, so it's better to be cautious."

Natsu groaned and rubbed a hand through his hair, but he nodded. Natsu led the group more slowly through the tunnels, partially following the map in his head, courtesy of Hibiki, but mostly following his nose.

* * *

Sting sat in the shadows of a wall somewhere in the city. He honestly wasn't entirely sure where he was. It didn't matter. All he had to do was wait until Fairy Tail took out everybody else, and then he would take out Fairy Tail. That was the plan anyway. Honestly, Sting didn't know if he could beat Natsu this time, either. Let alone the monster Titania or the big ass lightning dragon slayer. His pride pricked up at that, declaring that he could defeat anyone. If he had really been invested in this win, maybe he could. He wanted the thought of seeing Lector again to be enough to drive him, but as much as Sting cared for the Exceed, it wasn't quite the great motivator that Minerva expected.

Speaking of the devil woman, she leaned against the wall nearby watching him.

"Remember our bargain, Sting," she said coldly.

"As if I could forget," he replied emotionlessly. "Don't worry, Minerva. I'll beat the fairies you can't handle. Just keep Lector safe, or it will be your hide that I take off next."

She smirked at him as if daring him to try. The buzzer for the start of the game sounded, and she moved off to hunt the other guilds. Sting stayed where he was. He'd let them come to him. He idly watched one of the lacrima screens in the sky as battles raged across the city. He crinkled his brow when he saw the Fairy Tail team merely standing at their starting place. They had such a big lead right now that they didn't really need to take out a large number of opponents to still win, but it seemed an odd strategy nonetheless.

Wait. Where was Natsu? Sting found himself on his feet without thinking. The screen had switched to a battle between a Blue Pegasus member and someone from Mermaid Heel, but Sting wasn't paying attention. The unique pink head of the fire dragon slayer was definitely missing. Why would Natsu possibly miss this? He couldn't have been hurt that badly by yesterday's fight. Sting and Rogue definitely took the worst of that experience, and they were moving just fine, if still a bit bandaged.

Sting's hands slowly curled into fists at his sides as his body began to emit a faint white mist. He could only think of one thing that would keep Natsu away from the games: Sunshine. A thousand possibilities raced through his mind, and they all centered on Minerva. His fists clenched tighter as tiny drops of blood seeped through his fingers. Oh when he saw that bitch again. As soon as he had Lector back, she was as good as dead.

* * *

The search party found themselves in a large cavern. This didn't appear to be part of the man-made tunnels as the rock was rough and broken with stalactites and stalagmites scattered throughout, some connecting in the middle to form pillars. The stones glowed dimly as though they were infused with light. Natsu stopped with his nose twitching quickly.

"It's gone," he said darkly.

"What do you mean? You lost the scent?" Mira asked.

"Yeah, it just vanished. Both Lucy and Yukino."

"Okay, let's search around here. See if there's some doorway we're missing. If we come up empty, we can continue the way we've been going," Mira said. The others scattered to look around the dim cave, but Natsu stayed where he was. It didn't make any sense. Was she teleported out of here somehow? Pantherlily noticed Natsu just standing in place and flew over to him. He had been following the scent of the girls, as well, but not as closely. He sniffed.

"Wait. Natsu, the girls' scents are gone, but that other scent is still there."

"What other scent?" Lisanna asked.

"The whole time there's been another smell mixed with Yukino and Lucy. I assume it's the one who took them from the inn."

Everyone's face lit up with renewed hope before an evil cackle ripped through the air.

"Oh very good, pussy cat," a female voice said from the darkness. "Yuki, dear, what does the pretty kitty win?"

A figure leaped from somewhere near the roof of the cavern as another stepped from behind a stalagmite pillar.

"Enough, Lucy. Let's just get this over with," the second figure said. As they stepped from the deeper shadows, the search party's fears were confirmed. They'd found the two missing girls, but they were… different. Lucy's blonde hair was streaked with black and held in a tight braid that curled over her shoulder. She wore a black swimsuit top and a barely there black skirt with combat boots. Yukino's short white hair was combed to one side of her face with the exposed side close-cropped. She wore solid black, as well, with a long-sleeved crop top and ripped, skin-tight pants running into high-heeled boots. But the worst part was their eyes; both girls had solid black eyes with none of their usual personalities shining through.

"Who are you? What have you done with my Lucy?" Natsu growled.

"Your Lucy?" The blonde asked with a snort. "When did I ever belong to you? I don't even know you. But by the looks of you, you wouldn't stand a chance."

"I said that's enough, Lucy," Yukino said tonelessly. "We have to get back to Rogue to finish the process."

"Killjoy," Lucy said, blowing a raspberry. She held a gold key in front of her. "Alright then, weaklings. Time to show you the power of the Celestial Sirens."

"I did not approve that name," Yukino said with a long-suffering sigh. She too pulled out a gold key.

"Gate of the Maiden: Virgo!"

"Gate of the Balance: Libra!"

"Even their spirits have changed," Lisanna whispered sadly. Virgo wore an outfit similar to Lucy's and carried a wicked looking whip. Instead of Libra's flowing clothes, she wore a dark green spandex bodysuit, and her eyes were covered with a black kerchief.

"Punishment time, Master?" Virgo asked with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"Right you are, Virgo. Give 'em some pain," Lucy said with another cackle. The sound made Natsu cringe; it held a note of Lucy's usual bubbling laugh, but it was darkened and twisted into something evil.

"Libra, hold them down for Virgo," Yukino said. She sounded positively bored with the whole thing. Before the Fairy Tail members could react, they were pinned to the ground by Libra's increased gravity. Virgo lashed about at them, giggling happily.

"Satan Soul," Mira managed to gasp out before transforming. With her increased strength, she escaped the gravity field and flew at Virgo. Freed managed to free the hand holding his sword long enough to scrawl out a rune sequence to combat the gravity. Once able to stand again, he began writing an entrapment for the girls, but his sword was knocked out of his hand by Virgo's whip.

While he'd been writing, Lucy had summoned Leo, who was now battling Mira. His hair actually resembled a lion's mane now, and he wore a suit of shining gold armor. Mira was holding her own for now, but it was clear that Leo's power had gotten an upgrade. Or perhaps it was Lucy whose power had increased. Natsu went to help Mira as Wendy and Pantherlily attacked Virgo. Libra disappeared as Yukino called on Pisces. The two fish from the games were now a man and woman in dark robes that rippled around them like water. Lisanna moved in on them, and Freed quickly lunged for his sword to go assist.

Wendy upped Pantherlily's speed and strength as he bashed at Virgo in his battleform. Somehow the pink-haired sado-masochist managed to block with just her whip while simultaneously hitting him with the barbed tips. Tiny cuts appeared all over the Exceed's body. Wendy unleashed a sky dragon's roar from above with Carla carrying her. Virgo dodged the brunt of the attack and lashed out at the girl, knocking the two out of the air just before Pantherlily closed back in.

Lisanna took on her tigress form for better speed against Pisces. The woman slashed at her with an arm that turned into a razor sharp fin; she just caught the edge of Lisanna's face, and blood dripped down the girl's cheek. Freed activated his dark écriture, absolute shadow, transforming into a black knight before attacking the man.

Leo punched Mira into a pillar, but didn't come back in time to block a punch from Natsu. The attack sent Leo sailing the opposite direction. He landed with a thud, but was back on his feet before Natsu could reach him with another hit.

"I don't want to hurt you, Loke, but I have to get Lucy back," Natsu said as they traded blows. His fists were encased in flames, while Leo's fists glowed with a sickly black light.

"Lucy is where she belongs," Leo said with a hiss. "You can't stop what's coming. It is time for the world to be reborn." With that, Leo sent a blast of the black light at Natsu, knocking him back. Natsu glanced to the side to see Mira unconscious and back to her normal body. He crawled unsteadily to his feet and called his fire for a roar. Leo didn't move or block, yet the fire seemed not to touch him. Leo smirked before forming a ball of the black light between his hands and hurling it at the dragon slayer. Natsu dodged at the last moment, and the ball flew past to hit Freed in the back. The green-haired man crumpled to the ground.

Lisanna screamed his name just as a sharp fin flew at her. She couldn't dodge it in time, and she fell to the ground with a bloody gash down her thigh. Natsu tried to go to her, but he found Loke blocking his path with a smug look.

Wendy screamed as Virgo's whip knocked her from the air again. This time, she and Carla didn't rise.

"Happy! Happy! Where's Happy?" Natsu yelled. He searched for the blue cat to have him help Wendy, but when he finally caught sight of his best friend, his breath caught in his throat. Lucy held Happy loosely in her arms, and he wasn't moving. The blonde smirked when she caught Natsu's gaze. She raised the cat up so she could kiss the top of his head and pet him roughly. Happy moved slightly, and Natsu released his breath in a rush, glad that the Exceed wasn't dead, just unconscious.

"What's taking so long, Leo?" Lucy asked. She waved in a bored fashion. "Finish him off. We have better things to do."

"As my lady commands," Leo said. Natsu suddenly found himself struggling to defend against the lion's attacks. It seemed that Leo had only been playing with him before. Natsu tried to pull together his reserves of strength. He had to rescue everyone. Pantherlily was the only other one still fighting, but now he had Virgo and Pisces to deal with. Natsu pulled his power to the center of his body, preparing for a fire dragon attack, but suddenly all the air left his body as a mailed fist slammed into his abdomen. As everything went black, Natsu thought, _How did I fail? Lucy?_

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to Life Death rabidlovingfangirl and Kitsune Kayls for reviewing! And thanks to everybody else who's still following along with this story :)**


	18. Chapter 17: Land of Confusion

**A/N: So, this one jumps around a lot, which I don't really like doing in one chapter, but it's kind of necessary here as there's a lot happening at the same time. I'm so glad everyone's liking Dark Lucy! She's a lot of fun to write. Thanks to Yuraookami, Kitsune Kayls, and NoirShip for reviewing! Also, to answer NoirShip's question, when I started writing it, I expected it to be just a smutty love triangle thing, but then it started to take on a mind of its own XD but don't worry, the love square is still a thing.**

 **Onwards!**

* * *

"You're not seriously planning to bring that mangy thing with us, are you?" Yukino asked.

"Why not? It's fluffy. I want a pet!"

"Rogue won't be pleased."

"Oh, who cares what Mr. Emo wants? We aren't his playthings or his servants."

Happy began to stir in Lucy's arms.

"Natsu?" He murmured. He blinked and looked up at the familiar yet different face. "Lucy? What's going on?"

"Forget about the fire freak, little blue. You're mine now." Happy started bawling, and Lucy smacked him on the head. "Cut it out. You should be happy to ditch him. He couldn't even beat Leo. You're in way better company now."

"But Natsu's my friend. He's our friend, Lucy!"

Lucy's brow twitched as she glared at the cat.

"I'm not friends with any of those losers. I don't even remember a time when I was."

"What happened to you?" Happy sniffled. Instead of replying, Lucy knocked him out again. She shrugged at Yukino. The cat would think differently soon enough anyway. Rogue wouldn't deny her this little thing, surely.

* * *

"Who could have done this to them?"

"Can you feel it? The taint of dark magic?"

"The person from the games. They must have been here."

Natsu groaned loudly as the voices penetrated his skull. He felt worse than when Sting had thrown those blades of light at him yesterday. After much debate, he pushed himself to sit before tentatively opening his eyes. Ultear's concerned face hovered in front of him. He looked around to see Jellal kneeling by Wendy, who was also just starting to sit up. Meredy was bandaging the wound on a still unconscious Lisanna.

"When did you guys get here?" Natsu asked.

"We just arrived. What happened here?" Ultear asked.

"Lucy and Yukino attacked us," Natsu said. "They're different. I don't know what caused it, but they smelled… evil."

Jellal and Ultear exchanged a worried glance.

"We need to find out what's happening," Jellal said. "Do you know where they went?"

"Not a clue," Natsu said as he slowly rose to his feet. Good, he could stand without falling over. That was a good sign. "But now that I know what they smell like, I should be able to follow them."

"Let's see how many of the others we can awaken first," Ultear said. Natsu moved to take Meredy's place by Lisanna while she went to check on Freed. Ultear managed to rouse Mira as Jellal and Wendy worked on bringing the Exceeds around. Once everyone was in a sufficient state of consciousness, they sat in a circle and planned their next move.

"I think it's best if the more wounded return to warn the rest of Fairy Tail what has happened. Lisanna, Freed, and Wendy should go back," Jellal said.

"That doesn't leave many of us to take them on," Mira said worriedly. "I know the three of you are strong, but you didn't see what Lucy and Yukino have become. Or their spirits for that matter."

"Even the celestial spirits have been affected?" Ultear asked. A crease formed between her eyes.

"Yeah, Loke packs a hell of a wallop now," Natsu said. He looked around at the group before leaping to his feet and prepared to run off down the cavern. "Happy! Lucy took Happy!"

"Hold on, Natsu," Freed grabbed his ankle, yanking the dragon slayer back down. "If Lucy took him, I doubt it's to hurt him. Maybe something of our Lucy still exists in there."

"We can't rush into this blindly," Jellal said, unknowingly echoing Mira's sentiments earlier. "Now, what else did they say?"

"Well, we know that someone abducted them from the inn because Natsu and Lily smelled a third person's scent on the way down here," Mira said thoughtfully. "So at least one other person is involved, but we have no idea how many more there could be."

"I think Yukino mentioned Rogue," Wendy whispered. "It didn't make any sense, but we don't really know anything about him. Do you think he could be behind this?"

"He didn't feel evil when I fought him yesterday, but maybe?" Natsu said. He looked pensive before yelling in frustration and grabbing his head. "Man, I can't deal with this right now! Let's just go find whoever it is and kick their ass already!"

Jellal sighed and rubbed his forehead. He didn't know how Erza dealt with the slayer on a regular basis, though he had a hunch it involved knocking him out a lot. Still, Natsu had a point. Jellal rose. He sent Wendy, Carla, Freed, and Lisanna on their way to warn the others before the remaining members of Fairy Tail and Crime Sorciere followed Natsu's nose deeper into the cavern.

* * *

Sting was still hunkered down in his little corner of the city. The fights were taking way too long for his liking. He watched Gray take out Rufus, and he felt a little spark of glee. Served the weird memory-make mage right. Laxus took out Orga without breaking a sweat, though Fairy Tail's lightning user did get pretty banged up while defeating Jura with the help of the water mage.

Titania and Kagura popped up on the screen. Sting leaned forward on his knees; this fight might be interesting to watch. He growled when Minerva popped up holding one of the Mermaid Heel girls hostage. Apparently she was important to both Titania and Kagura. He was getting real sick of Minerva's underhanded kidnapping shit. Still, he expected the two sword-wielders to do as she said and take each other out to see who got to fight her.

They didn't.

Kagura and Titania shared a long look before nodding and attacking Minerva as a unit. She dropped her hold on the cat-girl in her surprise and barely managed to block. It was over in a matter of seconds. Sting didn't remember getting to his feet, but now he stood in the square with his head thrown back laughing his ass off. This, this was too good.

The battle between Titania and Kagura lasted far longer, but it ended rather predictably as far as Sting was concerned. So who did that leave? He wondered. The screens answered him quickly. Ah yes, Rogue and Gajeel. And Frosch? What the hell was Frosch doing down there?

A dark shadow crossed over the lacrima screen. When it passed, only Gajeel remained in the passageway.

What the hell?

"It seems that Rogue has surrendered," the announcer's magically enhanced voice said uncertainly over the speakers. "Only Sting of Sabertooth remains against all five members of Fairy Tail. But where is he?"

"There's my cue," Sting muttered. He stepped out in the square so the recording lacrimas could capture him finally. He waited as all five members of Fairy Tail's team approached.

"I guess I should make some big speech about being able to defeat all of you, right? How I've unleashed some new great power and this will be cake and you can all come at me at once?"

Fairy Tail merely watched him. There wasn't any malice in the look. Well, Gray was glaring at him, and Erza looked less than pleased to see him, but the other three didn't seem to give a shit one way or the other.

"Yeah, I'm not as big on speeches as you guys," Sting said. "And I'll gladly fight any one of you any day. But by now, I think everyone knows that Sabertooth is done. Jiemma is gone. Minerva might take over. Or the guild might just collapse. Either way, there's no point in me fighting for it."

"We have more important things to talk about anyway," Gajeel said quietly. His team members looked at him with raised brows, but he shook his head. This wasn't the place, not with the lacrimas still recording. "For someone who wasn't going to give a speech, that was pretty long, kid. Are you surrendering or what?"

"Yeah," Sting said with a chuckle devoid of mirth. "I surrender."

"I'm not sure what just happened there folks," the announcer said timidly. "But it seems that both of the twin dragons have surrendered in today's battle, which makes Fairy Tail the winner?"

They heard the cheers all the way from the stadium. The lacrima screens stayed on the victorious Fairy Tail wizards for a little longer before blacking out.

"Sting!" A small voice called out. Sting turned to find Lector racing to him from the arms of the cat-girl from Mermaid Heel. He bent down to capture his friend in his arms.

"Sting, I don't get it. What's going on? Why'd you just surrender? Why'd milady take me? I don't get any of this," the Exceed asked with tears in his eyes. Sting rubbed his head fondly.

"I know you don't, buddy. I only half understand it myself. I'll have to explain later, though. Right now, we've got other problems," Sting said. He released Lector and turned to Gajeel. "So what's that important thing you mentioned?"

Before Gajeel could reply, the ground beneath them began shaking violently as fissures formed in the cobblestone streets.

* * *

Crime Sorciere, Natsu, Mira, and Lily crept through the tunnels. The scent trail was clear and straightforward, as if the two girls weren't worried about hiding in the least. They probably assumed the group from Fairy Tail would be out too long to make a difference. Natsu was itching to run forward and take on whoever was at the end of the tunnel, but he held himself back. Self-control wasn't his strong suit, but he'd lost to Leo (no, to Lucy, he reminded himself) once today, and he didn't want to repeat that moment. Fairy Tail members didn't lose twice to the same person.

Jellal held up a warning hand as they heard voices up ahead. The group moved forward even more slowly until they were crouching on a ledge looking down into a vast open area. Giant skeletons littered the area, and Natsu bit back a gasp as he recognized the shape: dragons. Dozens of dragon skeletons filled the cavern, and in the center were Yukino and Lucy. The two women were on their knees with hands clasped and their chests pressed together with heads thrown back as they chanted. A blast of tainted gold magic power burst from them as 13 humanoid figures appeared in a circle around them. The circle and all its occupants were coated in a gold light, with squiggles of black scurrying all over it.

Natsu looked down as Jellal grabbed his arm, and he followed the blue-haired man's finger to see a robed figure standing just outside the circle. The person held out a gray orb in front and chanted.

"We have to stop this now!" Ultear said tensely. "That's Rebirth."

Natsu vaguely wondered what Rebirth was, but he was more concerned with Ultear's first statement. Without hesitation, he jumped over the ledge and headed for the robed figure, flames at the ready. Jellal followed quickly on his heels, while the others headed for Yukino and Lucy.

Natsu and Jellal punched at the same time, but the figure leapt back to easily avoid them, still chanting. Jellal activated his meteor and Natsu used his flames to drive himself faster, but they couldn't seem to land a hit no matter how fast they moved. The robed person just kept dodging while they chanted.

The others weren't having much luck, either. The gold light had formed an impenetrable barrier. The two inside the circle ignored them completely as they tried to bash their way through. Ultear used her flash forward spell, Meredy and Lily bashed at it with their blades, and Mira's Satan Soul takeover pounded away, but nothing seemed to phase the sphere of light.

Suddenly, the figure stopped chanting, apparently finished with the spell. The room began to shake as small rocks dislodged from the ceiling, and an unholy shriek filled the cavern. The robed figure laughed, throwing his head back so that his hood fell away.

"Rogue?" Natsu asked. The man stopped laughing, but his smirk remained fixed in place. It was Rogue. But it wasn't. His facial features were more gaunt than those of the Rogue Natsu knew. His red eyes were harsher, and his short hair spiked up from his head with an even mixture of black and white. A black and white mist swirled around him as his evil smile grew.

"Too late, Natsu, too late," he said, his voice low. "Rebirth has been activated. They are being reborn as we speak."

"Who is?"

"The dragons," Rogue said as if talking to a child. "They will emerge momentarily to destroy the city, and take back the world for their own, under my control, of course."

A scream rang out behind them, and Natsu turned to see Mira and the others flung backward by a huge burst of power as the tainted gold sphere exploded. Lucy and Yukino stood at the center of the blast, unharmed. Their spirits had returned to the celestial world.

"It is done," Yukino said solemnly.

"Woohoo!" Lucy cheered as she threw a fist in the air.

The rumbling ceased for a moment. Then, all air in the room disappeared as if sucked through a vacuum before a percussive blast swept over everyone in the room. A roar sounded through the cavern, quickly followed by another, and Natsu realized that while there were still a lot of skeletons lying around, many had reformed their skins. Living, breathing dragons filled the cavern.

Another roar rocked the cave before the ceiling collapsed on top of them.

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Sting demanded as they heard the second roar. The city had stopped shaking, but he had a sinking feeling that things were about to get far, far worse.

"It sounded like a dragon," Gajeel said. "We need to move. Now."

Not waiting for a reply, he took off towards the stadium. The others followed quickly. They hadn't gone far before the ground shifted under their feet again and a huge cloud of dust arose not far from the stadium. As the ground resettled, the group headed for that area instead, only to stop in shock as huge figures rose up above the dust.

"What's that?" Gray asked of no one in particular. Sting and Gajeel shared a brief glance. It had been several years, but they knew. You never forget a dragon.

"We are in deep shit," Sting said.

"We have to reach the others," Erza said. "We need to evacuate as many as we can and form a plan of defense."

Sting counted seven dragons in the sky above Crocus as they ran through the streets. Rubble lay everywhere from the tremors. When the others veered towards the stadium, he pulled back, his eyes fixed on the lingering dust cloud. He turned back to follow the rest of the group, but paused again. After a moment of indecision, Sting followed his gut and headed for the cloud.

The dust threatened to choke him as he drew closer. He nearly tumbled down into the giant hole at the center. He couldn't see or smell anything, but he thought he heard fighting below. He closed his eyes and surrendered to his instincts as he began a swift descent into the darkness. The dust remained think and cloying, but his ears and limbs led him unerringly down. When he reached the bottom, he slowly opened his eyes. It was still difficult to see through the dust and debris but a dim light seemed to permeate the space. He followed the sounds of fighting to see Natsu and a blue-haired man fighting a robed man with his hood thrown back. Something about him was oddly familiar.

His attention was caught by another battle farther on. A giant black panther with a massive sword swung at a black bull in a gold mask wielding a battleaxe. Two pink-haired girls dueled not far from them while a woman in a blue cloak took on an orange-haired man in gold armor. A peal of laughter brought his attention to the final occupants of the room. A seemingly bored Yukino watched while Sunshine slashed her whip at Fairy Tail's She-Devil. Natsu's Exceed hovered by Yukino's shoulder with a sadistic grin on his tiny face.

What the hell was going on?

Sting's confusion was interrupted by a body slamming into him. He groaned and pushed the other person off of him to find a very pissed Natsu rolling to his feet.

"Natsu, what happened?"

"No time to explain, Sting. I have to go kick your evil partner's ass right now," Natsu growled before taking off back towards the robed man.

"My partner?" Sting asked the empty air. Seeing that Yukino was the only person in the room not currently fighting, Sting decided to ask her what was happening. He thought he recognized a couple of the others as Sunshine's spirits, but why was Lucy fighting someone from her guild? And why did she change her hair?

"Yukino," Sting yelled as he approached her. "What's happening?"

"Oh, it's Sting," Yukino said tonelessly. "I guess I have to get involved after all. What a bore." She pulled out a gold key and summoned Ophiucus. Instead of the giant snake, a lamia, a being with the torso of a woman and the lower body of a snake, appeared.

"Yukino, what the hell?" Sting asked as he began fending off the snake-woman's attacks.

"I would explain, but I really can't be bothered," Yukino said. "Finish him quickly, Ophiucus."

A roar caused the ground to shake beneath them. The robed figure leapt on the back of a deep purple dragon on the other side of the cavern. Lucy giggled and ran to join him, jumping to his side with a neat front flip and throwing her arm around his waist. Yukino ran forward and the dragon scooped her up with its tail to deposit her next to the others.

"Enjoy the last few moments of your lives," the robed man said as the dragon lifted into the air. His voice sounded uncomfortably familiar. That couldn't be Rogue. His hair was the wrong color. "I'd love to continue this little battle, but I have far greater concerns."

Natsu roared and leaped to grab onto the dragon. He barely caught the tip of its tail and held on for dear life as it ascended through the gaping hole in the ceiling.

Sting blinked at the spot long after they disappeared.

"What the hell is going on?!"


	19. Chapter 18: You Want a Battle?

By some miracle, the dragons were ignoring the tightly packed stadium in favor of wreaking havoc on the otherwise empty city. Fairy Tail rounded up the other guilds to divvy up roles. Non-mages and those less powerful were tasked with evacuating the stadium. The people in the stands weren't panicking yet, and the mages hoped that with the announcer's help they could keep it that way. They didn't need a stampede either hurting people or drawing the dragons' attention.

The rest of the wizards divided into teams to fan out through the city and engage the dragons. Seven dragons had been spotted, with an eighth rising up later. Lisanna, Wendy, and Freed appeared while the teams were being decided.

"We found Lucy and Yukino," Wendy said unhappily. "They aren't themselves, though. I think they must have something to do with the dragons that appeared. We left Crime Sorciere with the others; they went looking for them."

"I'm sure they'll handle it. For now, Lisanna and Wendy, you should help with the evacuations," Erza said.

"No!" Wendy exclaimed. "I may be small, but I'm a dragon slayer. This is what my powers are meant for."

"The kid's right," Laxus said, putting a hand on Wendy's hair. "We're a little outnumbered, but taking out dragons is what we're built to do. We need her in the battle with us."

"Very well," Erza said. "I leave her in your hands, Laxus. Now, there's no more time to waste. We must attack before the dragons completely demolish the city and begin searching for more things to destroy."

Gray sprinted off with half of Fairy Tail, including Gajeel. When possible, a dragon or god slayer was included in each group. They were a couple slayers short, though. _Sting and Rogue would be really handy right about now_ , Gray thought. _Leave it to them to be missing when we actually want to see their smug faces._

* * *

 _Earlier_

Rogue wasn't sure if he should be pleased or not that he had found Gajeel. He still wanted his match with the iron dragon slayer, a real match this time, but it just felt somehow wrong to do it now. He hated helping Minerva even if it would help get Lector back and protect Yukino.

"Tell me, Gajeel, is Yukino safe?"

The iron dragon slayer glared at him for several moments.

"You're serious aren't you?" He finally asked. "You mean to tell me that you didn't know your guild nabbed her and Bunny-Girl?"

Rogue's eyes widened slightly, and he felt the world tilting beneath him. She wouldn't. It wasn't necessary. Minerva didn't need Yukino to keep them in line. Rogue's hand went to his chest as he struggled to remember how to breathe.

"I take it that you didn't. I'm not giving that bitch the satisfaction of Fairy Tail losing just because she wants to play dirty, so I'm going to take you out. Bunny can take care of herself, and I'm sure she'll look out for Yukino."

Gajeel crouched, prepared to attack Rogue, but the shadow dragon slayer just stared at the ground. Looking at his shadow. Well, shadows. Why did he have two shadows again?

Rogue jumped backwards as one of the shadows moved on its own and began speaking to him.

"Take him out. Take him, then come find the rest of yourself. You will be reborn, with Yukino at your side. The world's rebirth is coming, Rogue. Come, be part of it. But first, take out the iron dragon slayer. You've wanted to beat him since you were a child. Do it now. You have the power."

"Oi, Rogue, we gonna fight or not?" Gajeel asked. But Rogue grasped his head in agony as the voice continued to pound at his control and sense of self.

"Rogue?" A tiny voice asked. Rogue glanced through his fingers to see Frosh standing in a doorway. He looked so scared. At the appearance of the Exceed, the pain in his head vanished, and the shadow screamed.

"You are useless to me!" Then, it slithered into the air and away.

"I surrender. I have to follow it," Rogue said. "I don't know what the shadow belongs to, but it isn't mine. It's evil."

"Probably something to do with Zeref," Gajeel muttered. "Go. We'll follow when the game is over."

Rogue nodded and slipped into his shadow form, grabbing Frosh as he went. The exchange had only lasted a few seconds, but already the shadow had a decent lead. He had been mostly truthful when he told Gajeel the shadow wasn't his. His magic recognized it, but at the same time, it wasn't his shadow magic. It was wrong: evil.

* * *

 _Now_

Rogue had lost the shadow somewhere in the city. When the dragons burst through a hole in the ground, he found it again. As the last dragon emerged, Rogue saw three figures perched on its back with a fourth dangling from the tail. He felt the pull of the shadow coming from the three figures.

"Frosch, I need you to find some place to hide. Outside of the city. Head to the stadium. They'll be evacuating from there. I promise, I'll find you when this is over," Rogue said. He hugged the Exceed tightly before setting him on the ground.

"Okay, be careful, Rogue," Frosch said with tears in his eyes. He jogged away towards the stadium. Rogue didn't like sending him out alone, but where the shadow dragon slayer was headed would be far more dangerous.

Before Rogue could pursue the evil shadow riding the dragon, a different dragon landed in his path. Slimy green scales glistened in the starlight and the glare of fires from the smoking rubble around them. Its body was supple, more snakelike than the others. A forked tongue hissed from its mouth as it spoke.

"Rogue, you are needed," the dragon said.

"Needed for what?"

"You must be kept safe. Without you, none of this is possible. Come, join us. Take your place as ruler of the world reborn."

"That isn't going to happen," Rogue said. His hair fell over his face. He needed to get rid of this dragon. It would be one less to destroy the city. One less for whoever was controlling the shadow to use against him and his friends.

"But Yukino is waiting for you," the dragon hissed. Rogue's eyes widened slightly. The shadow had Yukino? He could fight, probably lose, and waste time either way, or he could go along with the scheme.

"Come," the dragon hissed again.

* * *

"We have to get up there and help," the blue-haired man said. "Rogue must be stopped."

"Will somebody please tell me what's happening?" Sting asked. "Who are you?"

"My name is Je- Mystogan," he said.

"Oh yeah, you must be the masked guy who lost his shit on day one," Sting said. The pink-haired girl giggled, but a look from Mystogan silenced her. "What happened to Sunshine? And Yukino? And how is Rogue involved?"

"I believe I can answer that best," the woman in the blue cloak said, stepping forward slightly. "He is your friend Rogue, but he's not. The device he used is from the book of Zeref. It is called Rebirth. It can manipulate objects and people, reversing or speeding the flow of their time, depending on what the holder desires. It is something like my Arc of Time magic, but forbidden and far more powerful. Using the device taints the one who wields it. It is possible that Rogue was fine when he first used it, but there's really no way to know."

"If it just messes with time, why are Yukino and Lucy so different?" The She-Devil asked.

"I don't understand everything about it. I've only come across it in my research a handful of times. But I believe that with enough power and experience, a wizard can use the device to alter a person's past without altering their time in the present moment. Think of a day that changed your life. A decision you made. A person you met. What if that day never happened, you never made that decision or you never met that person? How would you be different? If my guess is correct—."

"He altered a moment in each of Yukino's and Lucy's pasts to turn them into dark wizards," Pantherlily murmured.

"He made it so that she never met Natsu," Mira said. "When we fought her the first time, Lucy said she didn't know who Natsu was. If she never met him, then she never joined Fairy Tail. But why is it only affecting Lucy and Yukino rather than altering the timeline for everyone? And how can we change them back?"

"I don't have the answer to either of those questions," Ultear admitted. "And their behavior could be some other byproduct of the device entirely. But I suggest we start by finding Rogue and taking the Rebirth device."

"Stopping the dragons from destroying the city wouldn't be a bad idea, either," Pantherlily added.

"Right," Sting said, clapping his hands together. "Lots to do, so let's get to it."

* * *

 **A/N: So this was a bit short, particularly compared to the last chapter, but it's a necessary transition chapter before things get a little crazy, what with 8 dragons attacking the city and all. Oh, and Ultear doesn't know the answers, but don't worry, I do! It's going to take a while for the story to fully unfold, so stick around. Thanks for rrff :)**


	20. Chapter 19: Lady Evil

Natsu gripped the tip of the dragon's tail as hard as he could. He painstakingly inched his fingers up, trying to find purchase on the rough scales. The tail whipped back and forth through the air as the dragon flew, tossing Natsu around like a leaf in the process. An evil giggle bubbled through the air. Hearing Lucy's altered voice made Natsu's features harden into a determined scowl. He summoned extra strength from his reserves and slowly reached hand over hand to drag himself towards the sound.

He took a breather when he finally reached the base of the tail. Crouching on the dragon's back, the wind threatened to blow him off entirely, but Natsu imagined himself rooted to the spot, and it almost felt as if his magic were actually latching onto the dragon, holding him in place. Once he was sufficiently recovered, Natsu stood and leaped towards the oblivious trio standing further up the dragons back.

Just as he reached them, Yukino turned leapt in the way of his fist, and Natsu watched in horror as he sent her small frame hurtling off the dragon's back. A dark blue beast appeared below, catching the girl easily. He let out a small sigh of relief that she was unharmed as he turned to face the other two. Rogue's face was impassive, yet anger gleamed in his eyes.

"Striking one of my ladies is even more foolish than trying to fight me to begin with," Rogue said. A low growl emanated from his chest.

"They aren't yours," Natsu said with an answering growl. "They don't belong to you. Fix whatever you did to them."

"Lucy, go help Yukino take care of the other slayers. I'll deal with this one," Rogue said, never taking his eyes from Natsu.

"Make him suffer," Lucy said with a smirk before planting a kiss on his cheek. She winked at Natsu and swan dived off the dragon onto the back of another covered in dark metallic scales.

Tired of waiting for Rogue to make a move, Natsu jumped at him bringing a flaming fist to the other man's face. Rogue blocked it with his forearm and punched towards Natsu's gut. The fire slayer twisted up and over his head to dodge, striking out with his foot as he landed. Rogue jumped backward from the kick and a ball of white light tinged with blackness rushed from his palm. Natsu caught it in his hand, but yelled in pain as the power seared his palm.

"Who are you really?" Natsu asked as he cradled his hand while staying in a defensive stance.

"It's not terribly important for you to know," Rogue said as he propelled forward toward Natsu. "Believe it or not, I am Rogue. Just not from this world. I believe you've been to Edolas?"

"That's why you look so different then?" Natsu grunted as he blocked Rogue's attacks. Each hit was coated in shadows that bit and stung his skin.

"Actually, that would be mostly Sting's influence," Rogue replied. He wasn't even breathing heavily as he struck at the pink-haired man. "When we merged, my personality became dominant, but he's still rattling around in here. Being a nuisance mostly. Though he did convince me to take the blonde as well as Yukino, and I must say it was one of his few good ideas."

Rogue pushed Natsu back repeatedly towards the downward slope of the dragon's side. The dragon roared suddenly, and Natsu felt himself tumbling downwards. He grabbed frantically at the scales to slow his descent. Some came off under his nails and tumbled to the ground below. He really wished Happy was around right now. His friend's wings would be incredibly helpful.

As if his thoughts summoned him, the blue Exceed appeared, hovering above his head.

"Happy!" Natsu yelled excitedly. "Give me a hand, little buddy. I need to get back up there and kick weird Edolas Rogue's ass."

"Help you?" The Exceed asked in confusion, which quickly turned to a twisted grin, and a manic gleam lit his eyes. "Why would I help the enemy? I just came to get a front row seat of your fall. I can't wait to see your broken body sprawled on the ground."

Now that he was actually looking at him, Natsu saw that Happy's fur had darkened to a midnight blue, and his eyes had no whites showing, just solid black expanse.

"Not you, too," Natsu said. He bent his face down towards the dragon's side and growled. "Not you, too."

The blue cat barely made it out of the way as Natsu shot up the side of the dragon, with fire coursing over his body. Rogue seemed determined to dig his own grave, so Natsu would be happy to help him step into it.

* * *

Gray and Gajeel led the rest of their group through the destroyed streets of Crocus, searching for a dragon to take out. Or at least, attempt to take out. This was actually proving difficult.

"You know, I really thought one would just pop up to fight us," Gray commented as they climbed over what used to be a building.

"Careful what you wish for," Gajeel muttered. A roar sounded directly above them, pressing the group down with the force of the dragon's breath. A giggle bubbling with malice followed the roar. The dragon landed on the ground in front of them.

"Let's take 'em out, big guy. You want to aim for the one covered in metal."

"Lucy?" Gray called. The blonde figure on the dragon's back tilted her head.

"Oh look, another weirdo who thinks he knows me," she said. She patted the dragon's neck before vaulting off it and landing neatly on the ground in front of them.

"Lucy, what are you doing?" Gray asked. He started to move towards her, but Gajeel barred his way with an arm turned to solid iron.

"Don't bother, ice queen," Gajeel growled. "That's not Bunny-Girl. You heard Wendy. She may look like her, but that's not our girl."

Gajeel pushed Gray back and took a couple steps forward. He sniffed the air and grinned.

"Aw, Bunny, you shouldn't have. Bringing me a dragon made of my element. Makes my iron heart melt at how nice you're being."

"Oh anything for you, handsome," Lucy said with a wink. "Not that my friend here will give you long to enjoy that warm fuzzy feeling. So you're the dragon slayer I'm supposed to handle? I bet this will be fun."

"I'm more interested in your friend there, Bunny. Once I kick his ass, maybe it'll be your turn. How 'bout you go play with Gray for a while. You two kids seem to get along well."

"Oh no, I was promised a dragon slayer. Open gate of the lion: Leo!" A bright flash of light revealed Leo clad in his gold armor, orange hair streaming down his back. Gray frowned at his old friend. This was worse than he'd expected.

"Gray, you and the rest take Bunny while I deal with the dragon," Gajeel said quietly. He didn't like how the dragon was just sitting there as though it was waiting for orders. Then again, maybe if she made it stay put he'd have an easier time putting the thing out of everyone's misery.

Gray didn't respond. Instead, he sent his ice lances flying at Loke. The lion dodged and launched a fist at Gray's face. The two traded blows, ignoring everyone else. Cana sent a card flying at Lucy, but she merely sidestepped out of the way. Max sent a sand attack at the blonde, but she summoned Scorpio in a blink, and the tables were turned. Max was hard-pressed to push back the sand from overwhelming his guildmates. Laki formed a wood barrier to protect everyone from the force of Scorpio's sand attack. Gray and Loke's fight had moved away from the rest as Loke steadily pushed him away from Lucy with his attacks.

While they kept Lucy and her spirits busy, Gajeel rushed the dragon. It swatted him aside, and Gajeel slammed into a half-standing building, causing it to further collapse. He flew forward again, attacking rapidly with iron clubs on both hands, trying to hit from as many directions as possible so it couldn't catch him with a smack like that again. The dragon seemed largely unfazed, and the iron slayer was reminded of Metallicana when he was a kid. He could never even scratch the beast then. Of course, he was a lot stronger now, and this wasn't just a sparring match; he just had to keep pummeling 'til he made an impression.

With Scorpio keeping the bulk of the group busy, and Leo handling the ice-make wizard, Lucy turned her attention back to her original target. The dragon was lazily trying to swat the iron slayer. Why had Rogue thought her help was even necessary? There was no way this guy could take out the dragon on his own. Probably some personal vendetta. She could feel some of Rogue's emotions, and he definitely held a grudge against the dragon slayers for something. Oh well, as long as she got to hurt somebody, she wasn't too concerned. She uncurled her whip and moved towards the iron slayer.

Leo's arms locked with Gray's, and the two pushed back, each trying to throw the other to the ground. Gray desperately wanted to check Lucy's location to make sure she wasn't hurting the others or getting hurt herself, but he couldn't risk pulling his attention from the lion spirit. He had to break this stalemate.

"Sorry about this, buddy, but when things are back to normal, I swear you'll thank me," Gray grunted. He reversed from pushing to pulling suddenly and created ice blades around his hands and elbows. As Leo tumbled over him from the force of the pull and his own momentum, Gray stabbed into his torso and pulled up with a violent jerk. The lion snarled as he was pulled back to the spirit world.

Gray rushed to his feet and took out the giant red and black scorpion from the side while its attention was still on the rest of the Fairy Tail mages. He didn't wait for the others to follow before tackling Lucy. She was stalking towards the dragon and Gajeel when Gray slammed into her side. He pinned her arms to the ground and straddled her legs, pinning her in place. Her shock at the impact lasted only a moment before she began spewing curses at him and trying to throw him off.

"Lucy, stop it," Gray said. "You aren't you right now. We want to help you."

"Ha! I may not be the same person you knew, but I'm definitely who I'm supposed to be!" She declared, spitting in his face. He turned his head to wipe his face on his shoulder, not that it really helped since he'd lost his shirt somewhere during the fight with Loke.

"No, you're not. You're supposed to be the woman I love, and I want her back," Gray yelled.

"Sorry, gorgeous, but she's gone, and she won't be returning," Lucy said with a smirk. "Open gate of the Maiden: Virgo."

Gray was suddenly pulled off Lucy by a whip wrapped around his neck.

"Shall I kill him, Master?" Virgo asked. She held his hands behind his back, and she kicked his leg to bring him to his knees. Lucy swayed over to him. She looked down into his eyes for a long moment before dipping down to kiss him roughly.

"A dying man should get to kiss his love one last time, right?" She whispered in his ear before shoving him backwards where his back met Virgo's boot. Lucy turned her back on them and waved a dismissive hand. "Do whatever you want, Virgo."

"Water slicer!" The sharp blade of water cut through the air, and Virgo barely managed to dodge, losing just a few pink hairs that dissolved as they left her body. The movement loosened her grip on both her whip and Gray's hands. He tore away from her, ripping the whip from his neck. Juvia appeared at his side as she put Virgo in a waterlock.

"What took you guys so long?" Gray gasped as the others joined them.

"There was a lot of fucking sand to dig through," Cana said. "Now can we please get Lucy? When the hell did she get this tough anyway?"

"Love Rival has always been strong," Juvia said. She released the waterlock when Virgo passed out and returned to the spirit world. "She merely hides it very well, sometimes even from herself."

Lucy had reached the dragon and Gajeel with a key held up in the air.

"Come on, there's no telling how much power dark Lucy has compared to our Lucy. She's only summoned three zodiacs, and we know she can summon at least five back-to-back normally," Gray said as he started running towards the girl and her dragon.

 _I'm going to save you, Lucy,_ he thought as he ran, _Even if you don't want me to_.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Don't get to fave, follow, and review :)**


	21. Chapter 20: Look Up, Look Out

**A/N: I ended up tweaking Chapter 5 a smidge, specifically the terms of the bet, for reasons that will be apparent later. Hope you all enjoy this latest installment! Don't forget to rrff. Thanks to NoirShip for continuing to review!**

* * *

The group who had first confronted Tainted Rogue and the girls split up when they made it to the surface. They split into two groups looking for the dragon slayers and Rogue. Sting went with Mira and Pantherlily. He would have preferred searching for his changed friend on his own, but he had to agree with Jellal that greater numbers would be their biggest ally at the moment.

The trio found a group from Blue Pegasus plus the little sky dragon slayer just as a midnight blue dragon attacked. Wendy roared at the beast, but it merely brought a giant clawed hand to strike her out of the sky where Carla held her aloft. The Exceed barely managed to dodge them both out of the way with a controlled fall to the ground. Sting activated his dragon force as he ran to her side. He vaguely heard the Blue Pegasus members attacking, as well, but he focused on getting to the smaller slayer.

"It's Wendy, right?" Sting said as he reached her. "Looks like you guys could use a hand."

"Yes, thank you!" Wendy cried. She launched two spells to boost both of their speeds and strengths before they attacked again as a unit. Sting didn't have an Exceed to give him a lift, so Wendy attacked from the air while he launched a ground assault. Their combined attacks just seemed to piss it off. The dragon shot a jet of water from its mouth, knocking away the guild at its feet. Mira had also taken to the air, and Pantherlily swooped down to pull Sting up before he was swept away with the Blue Pegasus members.

Once he was airborne, Sting saw a figure sitting cross-legged on the dragon's back.

"Yukino!" He muttered. "Hey, cat, can you drop me down there?"

"I have a name, you know. It's Pantherlily," the black Exceed said irritably before doing as the slayer asked. Sting landed just behind Yukino, and he heard her sigh.

"I had hoped to let Squirdia deal with the two of you," she said as she slowly rose to her feet. "Why do you insist on being so confrontational?"

"We'd probably be less so if your pets weren't trying to destroy the city," Sting said. He couldn't help the smirk that formed.

"Rogue was right, you are rather annoying," Yukino said with a sniff. "Open gate of the balance: Libra."

Sting sent a beam of light at her just as the spirit appeared. The attack hit the spirit squarely, and it vanished just as quickly as it had come. Before she could summon another, Sting jumped to tackle her and pull away her keys. He stepped away from her and put the keys in his pocket.

"Sorry, Yukino, but I can't let you keep calling out your bodyguards. You and I need to have a little chat."

"Do you really think my spirits are all that protect me?" She asked, arching a delicate brow.

Her hair and clothing lifted as if a large wind were blowing around only her. Shadows began to swirl around her, forming a protective field around her body. The dragon shifted under them as it took to the air. Wendy and Mira continued attacking, and the dragon began striking back at them in earnest. Sting carefully balanced on the ridge of its spine as he kept an eye on his former guildmate.

"Looks like Ultear was wrong," he mused. "There's only one way for you to hold Rogue's shadows like that. So was it Evil Rogue or my Rogue that did it?"

"There's no need for me to answer that," Yukino said. "You'll be dead soon anyway."

Suddenly, the dragon inverted itself in the air. Something, most likely the shadows, held Yukino to its back, but Sting was left to tumble through the air trying not to squeal in terror. His descent stopped just as suddenly when Pantherlily scooped him up with one of his paws. He was in his battleform with his sword clutched in the hand not holding Sting.

"Thanks, man," Sting said.

"Your idea to join Yukino doesn't seem to have worked out very well," Pantherlily noted as he headed back towards the battle.

"Actually, I gained an extremely valuable piece of information. We need to find Rogue. My Rogue, not the evil one."

"And leave Wendy to fend for herself against this thing?" Pantherlily stopped and stared at the man he was holding by the jacket.

"I still have Yukino's keys, so she's really only facing the dragon now," Sting said with a shrug.

"That's not better!" Pantherlily yelled in his ear.

"Geez, calm down. She's a dragon slayer, remember? And she's got the She-Devil with her. You can come back to help in a minute, just help me find Rogue. I don't think he even knows he's the one attacking the city right now."

"Fine. But this better work; your last idea was terrible." Pantherlily put away his sword and transformed into his smaller form to conserve magic as they began scanning the city below for signs of the shadow dragon slayer.

* * *

Makarov in his giant form wrestled with a dragon as Erza attacked it from behind in her adamantian armor. It didn't afford her much in the way of speed, but with the dragon locked down by the master, she didn't really need to move quickly, just hit it hard. She made a mental note to find or design armor specifically for dealing with rock creatures when this was over.

The other members of their group were attacking, as well, but the dragon—which looked more like a piece of a mountain had decided to go for a walk—wasn't fazed much. Erza's attacks seemed to annoy it, but she couldn't tell if she was doing any actual damage. She was already wounded from her match with Kagura just an hour prior, and even if they managed to take out this dragon, that left seven more roaming the city. And they still didn't know what had caused their sudden appearance beyond a vague idea that it had something to do with an evil Lucy and Yukino.

The dragon suddenly lunged forward, breaking Makarov's hold and pushing him back. The dragon unleashed a roar that shattered Makarov's giant form as he fell to the ground. Erza switched armor, but she was caught by the dragon's tail before she could do anything else. It slammed her to the ground as a blurry figure rushed past her. Thousands of tiny objects rushed at the dragon. Erza tried to stand, but her legs wouldn't cooperate yet.

"Erza, don't try to move yet," Meredy said at her side. "Let Ultear and Jellal keep it busy while you recover a moment."

"Meredy, do you know what's happening?" Erza asked. She ignored the pink-haired woman's advice and used her as a prop to stand instead.

"We know a little, but not nearly enough. Basically, a weird version of the dragon slayer Rogue is using a device from the book of Zeref. He brought the dragons back and somehow turned Lucy and Yukino evil."

"So why are you here instead of going after him?"

"We don't know which dragon he's on," Meredy said. "We split up from Mira, Pantherlily, and Sting to try to find him. Then we saw you and we had to come help."

"We can handle this. Finding this other Rogue is far more important," Erza said. "Let us take care of keeping the dragons busy, you should be focusing on finding Rogue and reversing the device, if possible."

"While I agree with you, Erza, you're in no condition to fight now," Jellal said as he appeared at her other side.

"I have no choice," Erza said. She requipped into her heaven's wheel armor. "We will all fight or we will all die. Now get out of here, and do something useful."

* * *

Laxus's ears rang from the screams of the dragon in front of him. He and Lamia Scale had found a dragon with scales that shimmered silver with flecks of gold, and it was a loud motherfucker. The high-pitched screams it emitted instead of roars were starting to throw him off. His ears were less sensitive than some of the other slayers or he would probably already be down for the count. The dog guy from Lamia Scale was curled up in a ball on the ground as it was.

Lightning rippled across the dragon's skin as Laxus attacked again and again, but the beast barely seemed to feel it. His ego was taking a huge knock at this. Lamia Scale's god slayer seemed to be dealing the most damage, or at least annoying it the most, which was their only real indicator that their attacks were having any effect.

A scream drifted on the wind from another part of the city.

 _Wendy,_ Laxus thought. The sky god slayer voiced the thought a moment later when a second scream reached them.

"Go!" Sherria yelled at him. "I can keep this guy busy. Go help Wendy."

Laxus didn't even consider arguing. He had meant to stay with the sky dragon slayer to begin with, but in the hustle out of the stadium, they'd been separated and he'd ended up with Lamia Scale, a group which already had a slayer anyway. He told himself they'd be fine as he zapped himself in the direction of the girl's scream.

Wendy and Carla tumbled through the air after being hit by a blast of water from the dragon. Mira swooped down to save them, but the dragon's tail swung towards her, and she had to dodge away from the falling girl and cat. Far too close to the ground for comfort, Laxus reached them, pulling the two into his lightning body before zipping to the ground to set them on their feet.

"Laxus!" Wendy exclaimed, giving him a hug which left a wet spot on his clothes as she was soaked from the dragon's attack. She looked down sadly. "We don't seem to be hurting it at all. Mira said we just have to keep it busy, but we barely seem to be managing that. It's still destroying a lot of stuff. And we don't want to hurt Yukino."

"Don't worry, kid. If we just have to keep its attention for a while, I can certainly help with that," Laxus said. "But what do you mean about Yukino?"

"She's on its back. I think she's sort of controlling it."

"Alright then. Cat, can you fly yet?"

"My name is Carla, and yes, I can, you big oaf."

"Good, get Wendy back in the sky so she and Mira can deal with Yukino. I'll keep the dragon busy."

Laxus zapped himself into the air, rematerializing just under the dragon's head to deliver a charged blow to its snout. The dragon stumbled in the air and lost some altitude at the hit. Lightning sizzled over its entire body, though Laxus had concentrated the charge at the point of attack. _So water is weak to electricity,_ he thought, _interesting._ Maybe he had a shot at backing up his word to the kid after all.


	22. Chapter 21: Burn With Me

"Rogue, you are needed," the dragon said.

"Needed for what?"

"You must be kept safe. Without you, none of this is possible. Come, join us. Take your place as ruler of the world reborn."

"That isn't going to happen," Rogue said. His hair fell over his face. He needed to get rid of this dragon. It would be one less to destroy the city. One less for whoever was controlling the shadow to use against him and his friends.

"But Yukino is waiting for you," the dragon hissed. Rogue's eyes widened slightly. The shadow had Yukino? He could fight, probably lose, and waste time either way, or he could go along with the scheme.

"Come," the dragon hissed again.

"Fine. Take me to your leader," Rogue said. Somewhere in the back of his mind he thought that Sting would be laughing his ass off at the phrasing. He half-wished his brother was with him now.

The dragon reached out a clawed hand for Rogue to step into, but before he could, another figure appeared and launched itself at the dragon. Purple and red fog streamed from the figures fists as they collided with the dragon's face and sides. Although he caught the snake off guard, it didn't seem to do much damage. The person leaped out of the way of the dragon's retaliation to land beside Rogue.

"Either help or get the fuck out of here," a maroon-haired man said. A scar ran over his closed right eye. "He's just planning to take you somewhere away from the battles until everything is over so his master can absorb your power at his leisure."

"How do you know that?" Rogue asked.

"I'd love to play babysitter and fill you in on the details while holding your hand, but I've got a dragon to take out," he said with a sneer. His arms transformed into reddish-purple scales while his fingers elongated into wicked talons just before he jumped back into battle with the dragon. Rogue let his shadows swirl around his body as black markings appeared on his face. He only knew of one dragon slayer other than those in Sabertooth and Fairy Tail: Cobra. He shook off the questions buzzing through his brain and jumped in to help.

Having never fought with (or even met) the other slayer, Rogue wasn't sure they'd be able to work together, yet Cobra seemed to anticipate and follow the shadow slayer's moves. Together they managed an intricate dance of attacks and retreats, yet the dragon laughed at them.

"Your poison cannot touch me, little one," the snake hissed. "My own poison overpowers it for I am far stronger."

With that, he spewed a thick cloud of noxious green fumes at him. Cobra merely opened his mouth wide and inhaled them all.

"Thanks, I haven't had something that tasty in a long time," Cobra said with a slightly crazy grin. He took a deep breath and roared at the dragon. Rogue caught his intent in time to add his shadow roar. A mass of purple and black swirled together and hit the dragon in the chest, knocking it back a few inches. The dragon hissed at them angrily and slithered towards them as it attacked more forcefully than before.

"Looks like you made it mad," a familiar voice yelled from above. "Holy light: white nova!"

Rogue closed his eyes as he heard the incantation. When he reopened them, the dragon looked even more pissed off as it flailed wildly around, dropping buildings on every side with eyes closed from the intense light that had just seared its retinas. A small black cat dropped Sting at Rouge's side.

"I'm going back to help Wendy," Gajeel's Exceed said. "Be careful, Sting. And I hope this plan of yours works."

Rogue barely raised an eyebrow at Sting in silent query about this 'plan.' Sting didn't make plans. He rushed in without thought. Cobra snorted on the other side of him.

"You're right, Shadow Box. Your nightlight there doesn't have a plan, just some interesting information that might help," Cobra said. He didn't spare them a second glance as he went back after the dragon, whose eyes still hadn't recovered.

"While Cobra's keeping the snake busy, what's this information?" Rogue asked.

"Whoa, that's the infamous Cobra? How'd he get out of prison again?" Sting asked. Noticing the tick that formed over Rogue's brow, he waved his hands in front of him rapidly and continued, "Never mind. Figure it out later. Anyway, to make this quicker, what do you already know?"

"Dragons are attacking the city, and for some reason I am important so this one wanted to take me somewhere away from the battle so I can't be harmed, though Cobra said it's just so the dragon's master can kill me later."

"Okay, well, technically you're the one attacking the city by using dragons under your control."

"What?"

"Weird, right? Also your new hairstyle sucks. And for some reason you took both Sunshine and Yukino and turned them evil. When I fought Yukino, I realized how. She had your shadows in her."

Before Rogue could question how that was possible, the dragon's tail came whipping towards them, and they dodged out of the way. Sting sent a bolt of holy light towards the dragon's eyes again as Rogue wrapped his shadows around its front leg and pulled, bringing it briefly to the ground. Cobra attacked the nearly blinded eyes with his talons.

"I think he's got this," Sting said, waving a hand towards Cobra who was tearing at the dragon's eyes with a happy grin. "Come on, we have to find evil you."

"He's on the purple one," Rogue said. "But how are we supposed to get up there?"

"Remember when you used to take me shadow-jumping for kicks? Specifically when you accidentally latched onto that wyvern shadow?" Sting asked as they ran through the streets, dodging fallen rocks.

"One of the many times we nearly got ourselves killed before we really learned how to use our powers?"

"Good times, right? Anyway, if you did it once on accident…"

"Maybe now I can do it on purpose," Rogue finished for him.

"Let's go hitch a ride."

* * *

Natsu shot up the dragon's side; he caught Edo-Rogue off guard and landed a solid hit to his face. Edo-Rogue snarled at him and flung a whip of shadows at him. Natsu dodged aside as he kicked out with fire dragon talons. As they weaved all over the dragon's back, Natsu paid more attention to how close he came to the slope down.

"So if you're from Edolas, how is it that you have magic?" Natsu asked between punches.

"Dragon lacrimas," Edo-Rogue grunted as he blocked the hits but found himself forced backwards. "Had them implanted just after we came through the anima. Nearly killed us both."

Shadows streamed from his hand. Natsu tried to dodge, but the shadows fanned out to wrap around him. He burned through some, but Edo-Rogue just continued pushing the shadows faster than Natsu could light them up. Edo-Rogue kept his hand out, melding the shadows into a ball around the other slayer and waited for him to pass out from the dark pressure. He sort of hoped the pink-haired boy would try to eat them. He didn't really need another lackey, but it would be entertaining to see the great Natsu Dragneel turn from the light.

* * *

 _Flashback_

When Yukino was called away to help Mira at the bar, Rogue looked around the guildhall for his younger brother. He and Sting were actually the same age, but Sting was always so quiet and meek that everyone thought he was a lot younger. When he didn't see him, Rogue started looking for the loud-mouthed blonde who co-ran the guild rather unwillingly with the blue-haired mechanic. He found her putting Natsu in a headlock and scanned the area around her. Yup, there was the light blond hair. Rogue sighed and made his way over to the boy crouching under the table.

"You know you look like a creeper, right?" Rogue asked as he bent down to be at eye level with his brother. Sting merely looked at him for a moment before his eyes shifted back to Lucy who was trying out some new wrestling move on the pink-haired driver. Rogue shook his head. He really didn't understand his brother's fascination with the older woman.

"Come on, let's take a job, get out of the guild for a while."

Sting turned terrified eyes to him. The world scared him to the point where leaving the guildhall at all was rare. Rogue's features hardened and he used his scary voice to say "Now." Sting jumped from under the table and sprinted to the job board. He scanned it for something easy and not overly terrifying, but Rogue pulled down one of his choosing.

"We're taking this one, Mira," he called before dragging Sting out of the guild by his jacket. They trudged through the heavy undergrowth in silence for a while before Sting gathered the courage to ask what the job was.

"We're checking out some weird activity in a forest just off the coast," Rogue said. "Probably just the Exceeds messing around, but maybe we'll get lucky and it'll be something interesting for a change."

"But Exceeds are scary," Sting mumbled. Rogue stopped and pushed Sting up against a nearby giant mushroom stalk.

"Look, Sting, you've got to get over this. Yeah, the world's a scary place, but you still have to live in it anyway. I may not always be there to protect you, so you've got to learn how to protect yourself, bro."

"I know," Sting said as he hung his head. Rogue raked a hand through his hair. It was getting long, and he would need to have Mira cut it for him soon. He just wanted Sting to be able to fend for himself if Rogue wasn't there to protect him.

"Come on, we're getting close to the job site. Just, try to stop being so negative or whatever."

They continued through the underbrush to the edge of a cliff. The white stone stretched out beneath them, into the air. The mainland almost seemed to shine below them. It wasn't terribly far, but Rogue knew he wouldn't want to jump to it. Not to mention that going anywhere near the mainland and the capital city was akin to suicide for a member of a dark guild. If captured, he would be tortured and killed, despite never actually using magic weapons.

"R-Rogue?" Sting's small voice brought him from his musings. "Is this the place?"

Rogue walked over to his brother and gazed at the scene with wide eyes. A perfect circle of over-sized mushrooms and other plants stood out against the normal (although still large by Earthland standards) foliage. The plants within the circle seemed to glow faintly and when Rogue reached out to poke one with the tip of his finger, he felt a gentle pulse.

"Let's look inside," Rogue said.

"A-are y-you s-s-sure?" Sting asked. Rogue hated it when the blond boy's voice started to quaver like that. _Tough love time_ , he thought.

"Yes, now are you going in on your own power or do I have to shove you?" Rogue asked, pulling out the scary voice again.

"O-o-okay," Sting whimpered. He inched closer to the edge of the circle where Rogue had pointed out an opening. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and jumped. Rogue waited for a moment to let the other boy come to terms with the fact that his fear was unfounded, but then he heard Sting scream. Not a yell of surprise, but a scream of pain and terror. Immediately, Rogue leaped in after him, yelling Sting's name. He only took a few steps before he felt it, too. Pain ripped through his body, and he felt as though pieces of himself were flying away.

Just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, the pain stopped. Rogue saw golden light trailing from his skin just before he blacked out.

* * *

Edo-Rogue shook off the memories. He wasn't sure how long he'd been standing there, but surely by this point Natsu was unconscious if not dead. He released the shadow ball, and the other slayer collapsed in a heap on the dragon's back. The dark blue Exceed snickered as he flew down to land on Edo-Rogue's shoulder.

"Where the hell have you been?" Edo-Rogue asked with a glare.

"Admiring the view," Happy said. "Sure took you long enough."

"Keep your comments to yourself, cat, unless you want to join him," Edo-Rogue snarled. He hadn't even wanted to keep the stupid thing to begin with. He'd never lost his dislike for the Exceeds since leaving Edolas. But Lucy wanted it, and what Lucy wanted, the small piece of Sting that remained insisted she get. At least Yukino wasn't the least bit demanding of him. "Why are you here anyway? You should be with Lucy."

"Lucy's a big girl. She won't have any problems with her group, so I thought your fight would be more exciting."

"Well go anyway, I have things to do that don't involve dealing with you," Edo-Rogue said. He shook his shoulders roughly to dislodge the Exceed. Happy stuck out his tongue before flying off to find the blonde. Edo-Rogue turned to stand on the dragon's head. "Release them."

The dragon roared and gray figures tinged with black fell from its mouth to pepper the city. Thousands of souls, centuries dead, walking the streets of Crocus to assault and terrorize any in their path. The dragons didn't really need help putting down the groups of mages, but Edo-Rogue had learned early in his time in Earthland that being too cautious was not a fault.

"What did you do?" A raspy voice asked behind him. Edo-Rogue turned to find Natsu climbing to his feet.

"Don't you know how to die?" Edo-Rogue hissed through gritted teeth.

"Not something I'm good at," Natsu said with a grin. "It'll take more than that to put me down."

"Looks like I may have to bring you to my side after all," Edo-Rogue muttered. He focused his power into his palms as he prepared to send a part of his sentient shadow into the fire dragon slayer. Natsu didn't notice the difference in his magic. He tried to block with his flames, but this shadow wasn't like the others. It circled around the fire and aimed for his chest. But a hand appeared to snatch it from the air and crush it before it reached its mark.

"You," Edo-Rogue said. His narrowed eyes radiated utter hatred. "Both of you, even. I don't know if I should be pleased or disappointed."

"See, Rogue, evil you with bad hair," Sting said with a smirk.

"I see that," Rogue said. He stared at his alternate with an unreadable expression.

"Thanks for the save, Rogue," Natsu said. "Trust me, I know it's weird to see your Edolas counterpart for the first time, but there's no time to worry about it now. We need to fix Lucy, Yukino, and Happy. He knows how. And he's going to tell us, or we're going to beat it out of him."

Natsu's flames burst around his hands. Edo-Rogue merely smirked as he surveyed the three slayers. It wasn't ideal, but maybe this could work in his favor.

"You're half right, Natsu," Sting said as a white light surrounded his body. "I actually know what he did to them. Unfortunately, you're not really involved in this so, bye-bye."

Sting shot a beam of light at Natsu, which knocked him back so that he found himself once again grasping for any fingernail-hold he could find. This time, he failed to latch on to the dragon, and he tumbled toward the ground at an alarming rate.

"Sting, I'm going to kill you!" Natsu yelled as the ground rose up to meet him.

Rogue minutely raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"What? He'll be fine," Sting said with a shrug. "I don't think that pyromaniac can die, and we have a rather personal issue to deal with here."

Both turned their attention back to Edo-Rogue, who looked highly amused by the turn of events. Oh yes, this could definitely work in his favor.

* * *

 **A/N: Had to throw some Cobra in there because I adore him. Finally some answers about Edo-Rogue! There's more to come later, so if your question wasn't answered here it probably is later, but you should totally ask me anyway so I can be sure that I'm covering everything. Thanks for rrff, and special thanks to Akajo for your wonderfully kind review :) And NoirShip, I'm so happy you caught the Pokemon reference! I'm kind of obsessed with the games XD**


	23. Chapter 22: Headstrong

**A/N: Here's some more Dark Lucy :D Thanks for rrff. And thanks to NoirShip and Crystal3300 for reviewing. I love the love!**

 **(Skippable) I also want to mention that the whole time I've been writing this story, I've been about 3-5 chapters ahead of what I post, which is why I've been able to update every day, and I don't want to post more than one chapter at a time just in case I do lose momentum. That and somehow I've been knocking out 3,000+ words on the daily, which is something I haven't experienced in a long time. It's really relaxing to me, and I feel like I've finally got my mojo back. If the notifications are annoying, I can postpone posting so often, but I know when I'm reading something that I really like, I love seeing the email that there's a new chapter. So, I guess what I want to ask is: daily updates or just 2-3 a week, which is better?**

 **Oh, and I feel like I should change the summary so if anyone has any suggestions on that, please leave it in a review or PM me. Thanks!**

 **On y va.**

* * *

"Open gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus!"

A giant black bull wearing a golden mask appeared next to Lucy. His lower half was armored in bronze, and he hefted a giant gold battleaxe.

"Taurus, there's a group of mages behind me. Keep them out of my hair," Lucy said.

"As you wish, Mistress," the bull replied. He took up a stance behind her, facing the Fairy Tail mages. Gray sent his ice lance at the spirit, but it was shattered by a swing of the axe. Juvia tried to put him in a water lock, but he dodged aside. Multiple attacks sailed at him, yet nothing could touch Taurus. Gray was used to the spirit being clumsy and overly distracted by attractive women. This focused and extremely skilled version was making him anxious.

While Taurus kept the rest busy, Lucy snapped out her whip, snagging Gajeel from the air by his wrist as he tried to attack the unyielding metal hide of the dragon.

"Leave the dragon for now," she said. She yanked to pull her whip free and recoiled it in her hand. "I've already faced the She-Demon today, now I want to fight the iron dragon slayer. Ferrinin won't bother us. Beat me, and you can go back to wearing yourself out against him."

"Bunny, I really don't want to hurt you again," Gajeel said. His face remained expressionless, but his body was tense.

"That's a shame because I really want to hurt you," Lucy said with a smirk. Her whip lashed out, and Gajeel snagged it from the air. He grimaced as the barbed tip sliced into his palm, but he held firm.

"Fine. Better call out one of your spirits then and let's get this over with."

"There's no fun in that," Lucy said. She yanked harder, and Gajeel released the whip before it took off more of his skin. "I stood against the She-Demon without my spirits. I doubt you'll be much more of a challenge."

Tired of talking, Lucy threw herself forward. She lashed at Gajeel's face with her whip, and when he dodged, she kicked at his abdomen. His arms came up to block the kick, and she pushed off into a neat backflip, bringing her other foot up to connect with his chin. Gajeel fell back a few steps. He cracked his neck loudly and willed his body to loosen up for the fight.

"Alright, Bunny, if you're serious, you can be my punching bag one more time," Gajeel said. Lucy giggled, and the twisted sound made him wince. The iron slayer dove towards her aiming a punch at her side. Lucy twirled away. She brought the butt of her whip down, intending to strike his back as he moved past her, but he anticipated the move and brought up one arm to knock her fist aside and the other to connect with her ribs.

Lucy fell back a few steps, but she had a feral smile firmly fixed on her face. Gajeel didn't give her time to recover before he closed in again, and the two began trading blows in earnest. He was amazed at her close combat skills. He hadn't thought Bunny could do anything like this. Sure she had an amazing kick that had put holes in the wall when she sent Natsu or Gray flying, but this show was something else all together. He was actually enjoying himself.

Of course, then Gray made it past the raging bull and tried to help. But, being uncertain if he needed to help non-evil Gajeel or evil Lucy, Gray ended up creating an ice wall between the two of them. As the solid sheet of ice blocked her from her fun, Lucy turned her angry gaze on the ice make mage. Her pretty face twisted into a snarl as she prepared to send her whip at him. Gray brought his hands together with his fist in his open palm, but his arms quickly flew up to block his face as a blue blur attacked him.

"Way to go, little blue," Lucy said with a wink. Gajeel found it disturbing how quickly she could go from a snarling animal to a bubbly (if still insanely creepy) version of herself. Not waiting for her to turn her attention back to him, Gajeel lashed out with an iron club. The hit caught Lucy in the abdomen and sent her crashing into the dragon's side. The dragon roared, hitting the Fairy Tail group who had finally started moving forward. The gust of air laced with bits of metal flung them back again. Lucy leaned against the dragon's side as she regained her breath for a moment before turning her face up to grin at Gajeel.

"Now you're getting serious. Finally," she said. She attacked again only to be bowled over by a body crashing from the sky. Lucy lay flat on her back in shock for a moment with the body draped over her. When the person didn't move, she got angry. Black shadows swirled around her as she heaved the body away and got to her feet. The movement seemed to rouse him.

Natsu slowly pushed himself to his feet, oblivious to the death glare that was directed at him.

"I am going to straight up murder that lightbulb the next time I see him," Natsu growled as he rubbed his head. He finally looked around to see Gray, Happy, and Gajeel all staring at him incredulously. He raised a hand in greeting. "What's up, guys?"

"Um, Natsu, you might want to duck," Gray said.

"What?" Lucy's whip snaked out and connected with Natsu's head before he could register that she was even there. He brought his hands up to protect his face as he backed away from her.

"Didn't you learn anything the last time you faced me?" Lucy growled as she advanced on him. Taking advantage of her distraction, Gajeel lunged to grab her. She sidestepped out of reach, but it gave Natsu a chance to attack as well.

"Gate of the Ram: Aries!" Lucy yelled as she evaded their attacks. A woman wearing a leather skirt and jacket and with black horns sprouting around her pink faux-hawk appeared beside her. Pink steel wool came out of her hands; it tore at the slayers' skin as it pushed them back from the blonde. Happy flew over to Lucy and grabbed her, pulling her into the sky.

"I'm getting bored with this game. Ferrinin, deal with them," Lucy said. Actually, she was starting to feel depleted. She hadn't realized how much magic she was using without having a proper rest. Her adrenaline rush was carrying her physically, but her magic was still finite. That last call to Aries was almost too much with Taurus still out. Aries and Taurus both disappeared as the dragon shook itself. He slammed down a clawed foot, and the dragon slayers barely managed to dodge out of the way.

Natsu dodged the dragon's attacks easily and landed a few hits of his own. Yet, his eyes kept travelling to Lucy and Happy who hovered in the air above to watch the fight. He didn't have time to deal with this dragon; he needed to get his two best friends back to normal. Gray's ice and Gajeel's iron were doing nothing to the beast, but red spots appeared where Natsu's fire touched the dragon's scales. He began concentrating his attacks on the dragon's throat. It bellowed and attacked more forcefully. It got harder to hit the same spot, but Gray and Gajeel realized what Natsu was trying to do, and they worked harder at distracting the dragon so that Natsu could get in some clean shots.

Lucy watched with interest from above. She didn't really care about the dragon or even about defeating the dragon slayers. She couldn't really think of anything that she did care about. Yesterday was shrouded in shadows. She knew only that she was a celestial wizard, and she had limited shadow magic. Rogue told her that she and Yukino were his friends and that the three of them were trying to reform the world. He said that a spell had backfired, temporarily blocking their memories and those of their spirits. Must have been a hell of a spell malfunction. Yukino seemed to hang on his every word. Lucy just wanted to kick some ass. It was obvious that Rogue wasn't telling them everything, and it was quite possible that most of what he said was pure lies—especially since all these other people seemed to know her. Not to mention the fact that he'd been able to bring the cat to their way of thinking with little effort. Suspicious behavior, but she really didn't care to examine the issue too far.

"Keep thinking that hard and your head will explode," the blue cat said with a snicker.

"Look who's talking, pussy cat," Lucy said. "If you had a single real thought in your head, you'd probably die from overload."

"Watch it, Lucy, you're starting to get pretty heavy. I wouldn't want to drop you."

"Do it and see how fast you die, little blue," Lucy said, but she smiled just the same.

She didn't remember her life before yesterday, and she didn't care. Rogue could burn with the rest of the world, and she wouldn't bat an eye. But this cat, for some reason she really liked this fucking cat. She didn't know why she took him, but as soon as Rogue did his thing, she knew it was a good decision. She felt like she'd known the cat her whole life. And she had stolen him from the guy who was actually managing to hurt the dragon.

"Who is that pink-haired guy anyway?" Lucy asked as said pink-haired man sent another roar of fire at the now bright red throat of the dragon.

"I don't really remember," Happy said. "He seems pretty obnoxious, though."

"Got that right," Lucy muttered. As she watched him fight, he did seem familiar. Was he important to her at some point in her shadowed past? She shook her head in an effort to clear the questions. "Come on, take me back in. Him taking out Ferrinin would put a serious damper in my plans to destroy this city."

"You mean Rogue's plans," the cat said, but he did as she asked.

"His plans, my plans, who cares? As long as shit gets broken, I'm down."

Before Happy could lower her completely, a roar sounded from the opposite end of the street. Lucy's head whipped up to see a crystalline dragon crushing debris beneath its feet as it crawled towards the group. Lucy scowled; apparently Rogue didn't think she could handle this on her own. She told Happy to never mind going down for now. She could at least regain some more magic power this way.

"Oh that's just fucking great," Gray groaned as he looked between the two dragons. The crystal dragon roared again and a frozen wind swept over everyone.

"Natsu should focus on the one we're actually beating, I'll take on the sparkly guy," Gajeel said. He turned away without waiting for a response and launched himself at the new dragon. His iron club connected solidly on it, and a tiny chink appeared in the smooth skin. Cold radiated through his iron arm. The dragon bellowed in rage and turned its icy breath on Gajeel. His breath came out in a heavy fog as he dodged away from the hit to strike out again.

Natsu kept his attention focused on the metal dragon. The bright red spot on its throat looked molten, and the dragon was having difficulty moving around as quickly as it had been. If Gajeel could keep the ice dragon busy long enough, Natsu was sure that he could take out this one. He tuned out everything but the fight and fervently hoped that his flames wouldn't run out before he was through.


	24. Chapter 23: You're Going Down

**A/N: Looks like the daily updates win! Yay! Thanks to Yuraookami and NoirShip for the input, and thanks to the new followers/favoriters :) I hope the flashback is less jarring than the last because it's got some important info, and I wasn't really happy with the placement of the last one, either, so hopefully it works a little better this time.**

* * *

Sting didn't like the calculating look Edo-Rogue was throwing at him and his partner.

"Rogue, we don't really need him to fix the girls. How about we take him out quickly and get the device so we can get the dragons out of here first?" Sting said.

"That's true, but I would like to know why he's here instead of Edolas. And why he took Yukino," Rogue said.

"Yukino is mine," Edo-Rogue hissed. "She was always supposed to be before I came here. Everyone knew it. Then I got trapped in this world, and lo and behold, you had one, too. I won't let you take her from me again."

Edo-Rogue leaped at them with the white-tainted shadows swirling wildly as dragon force markings in black and white appeared on his face and hands. Sting ducked under Edo-Rogue's fists and aimed a blow for the man's stomach while Rogue vaulted over his counterpart, kicking out at his head in the process. Turning into full shadow allowed him to dodge Sting's attack, but Rogue's kick still landed. Edo-Rogue tumbled from his shadow form and crouched a short distance away.

"I see you're as powerful a team as the gossip says," Edo-Rogue muttered. He glared at the pair. "I've hated you from the moment I heard you existed here. The twin dragon slayers with their lacrima implants and their dragon parents. Sting and I got the lacrimas, but the dragons were long gone by the time we were transported here. And Sting was too weak to use his powers effectively."

"Is that why you're trying to take over the world? Envy? Because that's pretty lame, man," Sting said. Edo-Rogue laughed harshly.

"Partly. But if you really want to know my reasons, I can show you, Rogue. Did you know that our shadows can transfer memories?"

"As well as block them, it seems," Rogue replied.

"Yes, a useful side effect. But if you really want to know what brought me here, I can show you in stunning detail," Edo-Rogue said.

"So you can take him over, too? Not happening." White light encased Sting's hands as he prepared to attack Edo-Rogue.

"Well, it was worth a shot," Edo-Rogue said with a shrug. Then, he jumped up, transforming into his shadow form as he did so. Rogue followed him into the air becoming a black shadow himself.

"Rogue, you moron, what if his shadows mix with yours?" Sting yelled. The two shadows ignored him as they warred over the back of the dragon, racing from tail to head and back again. Sting growled as he tried to pick out the evil shadow to attack. Before he could figure it out, Rogue reached out and snatched Edo-Rogue from his shadow form and landed a solid punch to his face.

Edo-Rogue merely grinned despite his bloody nose. Rogue suddenly released his hold on his counterpart's robes and kneeled with his head clutched in his hands as he moaned softly. Edo-Rogue rose to his feet and turned to Sting.

"He'll be down for a while before his shadows are ready to be absorbed into mine. Now it's your turn," Edo-Rogue said. His bloody grin remained fixed in place. Taking no chances, Sting activated his dragon force and prepared to attack the lunatic version of his best friend and brother.

"I don't think so," Sting said.

Neither paid any attention to Rogue writhing near the dragon's head as memories that weren't his own flooded his mind.

* * *

 _Flashback_

Rogue woke up slowly to a warm breeze whipping the hair on his forehead. He blinked a few times, squinting at the brightness of the sun filtering through leaves. As he opened his eyes fully, he realized that something was very wrong. Instead of giant mushrooms and brightly colored plants, he was surrounded by a mass of tall trees with simple greens leaves. Even the green grass beneath him was unfamiliar.

"Sting!" He shouted as he sat up. He looked around wildly until he spotted a crumpled form a short distance away. He stumbled to his feet and rushed to the side of his blond brother. He sighed in relief when he felt a pulse beneath his fingers. He sat back cross-legged to survey their new surroundings. Even the air felt different. Each inhale brought a tingle to his tongue. He'd only experienced something similar when near one of his guildmates' magic devices.

Sting groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

"What happened, Rogue?"

"I don't know, but I don't think we're in Edolas anymore," Rogue said quietly. Sting sat up suddenly, but he sank down again, gripping his head.

"What do you mean?"

"None of this is familiar," Rogue said. He stood up. "Can you stand? I think we should try to figure out where we are. There's bound to be people, right?"

Sting nodded and slowly rose with the help of his brother. The two walked silently through the forest until the trees suddenly ended. A bare expanse of gray greeted them. Rocks and silt spread out below them, covered in a dark mist.

"What is this place?" Sting murmured.

"I don't know. It feels like a graveyard, though. It's like all of the life has been sucked out of here. Come on; let's get away from this place. I don't like the feel of it."

The boys walked for hours until they reached a village. Before they could react, dozens of armed men surrounded them and dragged them to a hut. Sting fell heavily on Rogue as they were tossed inside. They couldn't see anything through the gloom, but Rogue heard faint whispering to his right.

"New kids?"

"Looks like it."

"Do you think they're okay?"

"Are any of us?"

"Who's there?" Rogue asked. He pushed Sting off of him gently and staggered to his feet. As his eyes adjusted to the minimal light, he made out three figures against the back wall. One stood and slowly approached.

"My name is Yukino," a thin, sweet voice said. He knew that voice.

"Yuki, how did you get here?" He asked. He reached out to grab her hand, but she pulled away and scampered back to the wall.

"Same as you, those men captured the three of us and put us here. We don't know what they want. There were other kids, though. Two of them. They took them yesterday, and we heard some screams, but we haven't seen them again," a boy's voice said. Rogue squinted, but all he could make out was shaggy hair and a rail thin frame.

"What are your names?" Yukino asked.

"What do you mean? Yuki, you know us. It's Sting and Rogue."

"Sorry, but I've never met either of you," Yukino said, shaking her head.

"Sure you have, we're all in Fairy Tail together!" Sting piped up. Yukino's face scrunched up in confusion.

"I don't belong to a guild. Fairy Tail is the strongest guild in Fiore; I wouldn't have a chance of joining them. I'm not even a wizard."

"Are you wizards?" The third figure asked. It was another girl with long hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"Not yet," Rogue said. "There aren't enough magic weapons to go around, especially since the king keeps confiscating everything. And what's Fiore anyway?"

"What are you even talking about? Fiore's the country you're in, and the king doesn't have any interest in taking magic from people," the boy said.

"We really aren't in Edolas anymore, huh?" Sting whispered.

"What's Edolas?" The girl asked. She had slowly been inching towards them until she was just a foot away from Sting. He shrank back from her scrutiny as he tried to stealthily position himself behind Rogue.

"It's where we're from," Rogue said. He sat down on the dirt floor. "I don't know how we got here. I don't really understand where here is, either."

The group fell silent for a while. Eventually the boy and girl introduced themselves as Hiro and Roxanne. They were orphans who had been captured in the forest on their way to live with an aunt. Sting and Rogue fell into a fitful slumber until the door slammed open, waking all of the children in the hut.

Two men came in and picked up Sting and Rogue roughly. Rogue lashed out at them, but he was powerless against the much larger men. Sting didn't bother fighting. He just whimpered as he was hauled away. They were placed in separate rooms. Rogue was chained to a hard metal table and left there. When the men returned, they pushed a black orb into his chest. The searing pain caused him to pass out within seconds.

He awoke screaming. The pain had subsided, but the memory of it burned into his brain. Wisps of black floated around him, and he watched them warily. His eyes flicked to the door as it opened.

"Ah, good, you're awake," a bespectacled man strode into the room. "I trust you're comfortable? I can't wait to see what power you'll have for us once the dragon lacrima has matured and can be reclaimed."

"Where's Sting?" Rogue managed to ask. His throat was ragged to the point that even breathing hurt.

"The little blonde? In a similar state. We're still waiting to see if he will survive the implementation." The man turned to leave. "There are always more children if he doesn't."

Rage burned through Rogue. He forgot his ragged throat, the dull ache in his chest, and the rub of metal against his wrists and ankles. The edges of his vision tinged black and he felt his body fade away. His consciousness dimmed as pure anger and hatred consumed his being.

When Rogue regained consciousness, Sting stood over him with a worried frown. He tried to smile at the sight of his brother still alive, but it was like his mouth had forgotten the movement. He glanced to the side and found a corpse staring back at him. He sat up slowly and gazed at the carnage in the room. Bodies were strewn around the two boys and blood coated the walls.

"What happened here?" Rogue asked hoarsely.

"You happened," Sting replied. "I woke up, and there you were. Your body kept turning into shadows, and you just tore through them. More kept coming, but you just…you killed them. All of them."

Rogue stood up. He looked around the room and tried to feel something. Anything. After several moments of this, he threw his head back, and he laughed. He finally felt something: joy.

* * *

Rogue screamed in anguish, and the sound distracted Sting from beating at Edo-Rogue so the evil man managed to land a punch. Shadows bit into Sting's skin, and he burned them away. He tried to cast a magic circle on Edo-Rogue to paralyze him, but the circle just melted into Edo-Rogue's skin.

"You aren't the only one with holy light magic," Edo-Rogue sneered.

"You may have similar light magic, but yours is anything but holy," Sting growled.

"Semantics," Edo-Rogue said. He waved a hand dismissively before sending shadows from his open palm at the white dragon slayer. Sting dodged aside and pivoted on his hand to send a dragon talon kick at Edo-Rogue.

"How is it that you have magic like mine?" Sting asked. He didn't wait for a reply before launching a holy blade attack. Rogue deflected some with his shadows and light while dodging the rest.

"From your Edolas counterpart, of course. We both had lacrimas. Now I have them both. You can't imagine the power it gives me, but I'm afraid it's not enough. I want yours, too." Edo-Rogue threw a ball of light and shadow at Sting. He rolled away from the attack. Sting was finding himself playing defense a lot more than he was used to, and he didn't like it at all.

"Over my rotting corpse," Sting said.

"Well, that is the plan, of course," Edo-Rogue replied. Rogue screamed again, and the evil version snickered. "I think he's nearly there. I'm sure those memories aren't helping any. It must be terribly difficult to differentiate between my memories and his own. It will only break him down faster."

"As long as I'm still breathing, I won't let you have him," Sting said with a roar. Edo-Rogue dodged it easily and came back too quickly for Sting to react. Sting took a fist of shadows straight to the face. He reeled backward before regaining his balance, but he barely had his feet properly under him before Edo-Rogue attacked again. Sting idly wondered how things had taken such a sudden turn as he tried desperately to find the rhythm of the fight again. He felt as though his punches were pushing through syrup which stole all momentum. A kick to his chest sent him rolling to the dragon's tail. Rogue still lay at the opposite end by the creature's head.

Edo-Rogue appeared above Sting with the white-tainted shadows leaping around his open hand. He smirked as Sting tried and failed to rise to his feet. He felt drained, and he couldn't understand why. The fight with Natsu the previous day had taken far more out of him, yet Sting felt exhaustion creeping through him as his brain gained a thin film that made thinking difficult.

"Do you like how versatile my magic is since it is the combination of light and dark? Memory manipulation, magic draining… Sometimes I amaze even myself," Edo-Rogue said.

"Keep talking smack, you evil bastard," Sting said as he pushed against the desire to give up. "Won't matter in the end. I'll put you down. For Rogue. For Yukino. For Sunshine."

"Pretty speech, Sting, but words are useless here," Edo-Rogue said. "It's time for you to join your Edolas counterpart." He lowered his hand over Sting's chest, and Sting tensed for whatever would come next. His limbs weren't responding properly. Just before Edo-Rogue's hand made contact, he was pushed back by a blur of blue and gold. Sting blinked lazily and tried to make sense of the sight in front of him. Edo-Rogue was now fighting someone else. _Blue hair. Oh yeah, that Je-Mystogan guy. Cool._

A hand came up and smacked his cheek with a force that felt like it was propelled by a magic vehicle. Sting's head whipped back from the contact, and his eyes opened wide. Ultear glared down at him.

"Time to wake up, Sting. The battle isn't over, yet," she said. "Rogue needs you."

"Rogue?" Sting asked stupidly. His eyes fell first on the weird version of his partner with the short black and white hair before travelling to the now prone figure of his actual partner. Anger burned through him for a moment, lighting a reaction in his magic. White light burst from his body, causing Ultear to shield her eyes. When the burst of magic had burnt away the remnants of the shadows, Sting stood.

"Help Mr. Blue keep evil Rogue busy while I take care of my partner," Sting said. Ultear merely nodded before leaping to Mystogan's aid. Sting rushed to Rogue's side.

"How you doing, man?" Sting asked. A shuddering breath was Rogue's only reply. "That bad, huh? Well, let's hope I can fix this. This is just a theory, but no time like the present to try it out, right?"

Sting brought his palms together and whispered a short incantation before releasing a blast of holy light into his partner. Rogue twitched violently and his breaths shortened to quick gasps. Sting could feel the evil shadows melting away from the exposure to his light. _Please just don't let me destroy Rogue's shadows, too_ , Sting thought.

He finally sat back on his heels with his head hanging down. He'd done the best that he could. Rogue remained unmoving on the dragon's back.


	25. Chapter 24: Soul Society

**A/N: Short look at what everyone else is up to. I'm posting the continuation of the Rogue vs. Edo-Rogue today, too since this is so short!**

* * *

"What the hell are these things?" Elfman yelled. He transformed into his beast mode and swiped away three of the semi-solid figures that surrounded them. The fight with the dragon was not going well, and now they had a mass of shadow people to deal with, too. Some were almost entirely solid, while others barely maintained a visible form.

"They're motherfucking souls!" Bickslow replied.

"Can you do anything about them?" Evergreen asked as she tried to petrify a group with her stone eyes. The souls continued advancing on them.

"Maybe a few, but this is way too many for my magic to deal with alone," the seith mage said. "And I don't even know if it will work since they don't have actual bodies for me to manipulate."

"Do what you can," Erza said. "Master and I will continue handling the dragon."

"I think her definition of 'handling' is a bit loose here," Evergreen muttered as she launched her leprechaun spell.

* * *

Cobra nearly keeled over from the sudden cacophony. Despite blinding the poison dragon, the thing was refusing to die. He couldn't afford this distraction, but the sound of so many souls in the city was deafening. They weren't even actually thinking; they were screaming. Wordless shrieks of pain, anger, sorrow. The screams swirled through Cobra's mind. Normally the sounds of suffering were music to his ears, but this was ludicrous. He tried to drown them out, but they were so loud…

* * *

"What's that?" Lisanna asked worriedly from the hilltop. The stadium had been fully evacuated, and she was helping to herd the last few out of the city and into the surrounding hills. Levy came up to join her. Her face scrunched up into a frown as she watched the gray figures pouring from the dragon's mouth.

"I don't know," she said finally. "There are so many figures down there now. I feel like I've read something about a dragon like that, but I can't seem to remember."

"I hope the others are alright," Lisanna said with a sigh.

"They'll be fine. Gajeel's with them. Plus Laxus and Wendy. And I'm sure Natsu's down there somewhere. Even without the dragon slayers, Fairy Tail won't go down without a fight. Come on; let's get the rest of these people into the forest."

Lisanna offered a weak smile and nodded. Her sister and brother were both down there fighting, so she knew she shouldn't really worry. Yet, she did. Her thoughts turned to her unofficial twin who was now covered in darkness. _Mira will get her back_ , she thought. She turned to follow Levy. She paused as she heard two new voices on the ground near her.

"I bet Sting and Rogue are down there kicking some major dragon butt!" A red Exceed said excitedly.

"Fro thinks so, too!"

"I recognize you," Lisanna said as she crouched down by them. "You came by the inn to warn us."

"That's right," Fro said.

"And you must be Sting's friend."

"My name is Lector. There ain't no greater dragon slayers than Sting and Rogue. Natsu just got lucky. They'll beat all those dragons in no time."

Lisanna giggled. She hoped the Exceed's faith in his friends would pay off for them all.

* * *

"Was this really necessary?" Lucy grumbled as she watched the members of Fairy Tail, except the two dragon slayers, abandon the fight with the dragons in order to concentrate on the figures that had been released from the Dragon of Souls.

"Talk about overkill," the blue cat agreed. "Although, that iron guy does seem to be chipping at Glacien pretty hard."

Lucy turned her attention to the ice dragon and Gajeel. His iron club was fairing far better against the crystalline hide than it had against the metal that was currently being liquefied by the fire dragon slayer. She idly thought about adding to the confusion below, but she was too irritated by Rogue's second interference. She tried to tell herself that she was definitely not pouting, but she knew that's exactly what this reaction was. She didn't get why Rogue had requested her help if he was just going to make her virtually irrelevant to the fighting.

She glared down at the battlefield. Lucy decided that when this was over, she was going to kick his ass herself for being such an overbearing prick.

* * *

Laxus zipped around the water dragon almost gleefully as he landed hit after hit. The dragon roared in pain and anger as it tried unsuccessfully to strike back. It almost got in a good hit as yells from Blue Pegasus below distracted him. Gray figures in various states of solidity attacked the other guild. Laxus turned his attention back to the dragon. They would have to deal with the new threat on their own until he took out this guy. Despite his element's obvious superiority, the water dragon wasn't going down easily.

Mira and Wendy attempted to deal with Yukino above, but the shadows surrounding her constantly deflected their attacks. Both Fairy Tail women tried to talk to her, hoping to break through whatever Rogue had done, but she refused to even acknowledge their questions and pleas. They just hoped she would run out of magic soon, if the shadows were even powered by her own magic. Until then, they alternated ineffectual attacks with attempts to remind Yukino of who she really was.


	26. Chapter 25: This Dying Soul

**A/N: I feel like I should clarify something real quick. Edo-Rogue and Sting came through when Fairy Tail and Magnolia were sucked into Edolas (the gray landscape they saw was Magnolia), so they've been in Earthland since the Edolas arc. And they would never have seen Prince Jellal since they left before the craziness went down, so Edo-Rogue doesn't know who he is. And thanks for the summary suggestion NoirShip! I'm probably going to work that over later tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for rrff!**

 **On y va!**

* * *

 _Flashback_

Rogue and Sting set the other three kids free from the hut once Rogue had stopped laughing maniacally. The black shadows kept threatening to erupt from Rogue's body, and he had to concentrate closely to keep them from overwhelming him again. He noticed that Sting kept emitting a faint white light, and he moved slowly, as though his body wasn't used to the simple act of walking anymore.

"This Fairy Tail of yours, where is it?" Rogue asked Yukino as they stopped in a clearing to sleep for the night. He'd stayed close to her that day, but he had to admit that she wasn't really his Yukino. She was quieter, and she never smiled. He loved Yukino's smile. No matter how bad things got while running from the Fairy Hunter, she always had a quick smile and joke to lighten the mood. He missed it.

"I think it's in a town called Magnolia. I'm not entirely sure where that is, though. To be honest, I'm not even sure where we are now," she said.

"We should go there," Rogue said. "I know it won't be the same, but maybe they can help us."

"It's better than our plan," Hiro said.

"What's your plan?"

"Wander around and hope to survive." Hiro huffed out a half-hearted laugh.

It took them two weeks of stumbling through the forest in what was probably circles, catching fish and picking berries, before they found another town.

"Excuse me, sir," Roxanne stopped the first stranger they came to with a polite bow. "Can you please tell us what town this is?"

"You're in Magnolia, sweetheart," the old man said.

"The home of Fairy Tail?" Rogue asked. He couldn't believe they'd actually found it this quickly, but the man nodded. "Can you please direct us to the guild?"

"It's that big building on the other side of town. You can see the tower from here."

They thanked him and quickly made their way through the streets. The five stopped at the giant wooden doors and stared up at the tall stone building with the Fairy Tail flag hanging proudly high above.

"This definitely isn't our guild," Sting muttered sadly.

Before they could make up their minds to enter, the doors burst open. Sting and Rogue froze with mouths wide open as their worst nightmare exited the building, nearly running them over: Erza Knightwalker. But her armor was covering a lot more than Rogue remembered from the few times he'd seen her while running with the guild.

"What's this?" Erza asked as she noticed them as the boys dodged out of the way. "Are you children lost?"

"We're looking for Fairy Tail," Roxanne said.

"Well, you've found it. Are you looking to join?"

"No." Rogue said flatly. Sting cowered behind him while the other three stared at him in confusion. "We just wanted to see the famous guild."

"Feel free to look around, then," Erza said with a smile.

"Excuse me, miss," Yukino said shyly. "You're Erza Scarlet, aren't you? The Titania."

"Yes, that's me. I'm afraid I'm on a rather urgent errand, but perhaps I'll see you again when I return." With that, she quickly passed them and disappeared into the town.

"The Fairy Hunter is a member of Fairy Tail?" Sting asked in shock.

"Fairy Hunter?" Hiro asked.

"Never mind. Come on; let's see what else is different," Rogue said.

No one looked at the group as they entered the guildhall. Rogue recognized most of the faces around him, but other than facial features they seemed completely different. He saw Gray in nothing but his boxers fighting with Natsu, who had flames coming out of his hands, while Juvia, wearing entirely too many clothes for her usual tastes, watched from behind a pillar with hearts in her eyes. An extremely buff version of Elfman was yelling about how manly he was, and a fat Nab stood at the request board gazing at the flyers vacantly.

"It really isn't our guild," Sting whimpered. Rogue felt a tick form in his brow, and he had the strangest desire to lash out at his brother with his shadows. He controlled the urge, and his eyes landed on Mira, at least she looked the same. He made his way to her, but he was stopped by Sting pulling frantically on his shirt sleeve.

"What?" Rogue snapped.

"It's her," Sting whispered. Rogue followed his gaze to a corner of the guild where Lucy and Levy were bent over a large book, giggling quietly. That action was strange enough for the two sworn enemies, but Lucy's appearance was completely different, too. She bared way more skin than they were used to, and a soft smile never seemed to leave her face.

"It's not her," Rogue said flatly as he continued to the bar. "None of them are our guildmates."

"Mira," Rogue greeted the barmaid as he hopped onto a stool.

"Hello, that's me. Who are you?"

"You don't know me?" Rogue asked. His brow furrowed. With a version of everyone else, even the hated Fairy Hunter, here, he had just assumed there would be a version of himself and Sting, too.

"Sorry, dear, but I can't recall ever seeing you before."

"That's okay, we're not from here," Sting said. Mira was one of the few people in their guild that he trusted outside of Rogue and one of the few he spoke to willingly. "We're from Edolas."

"Edolas?" Mira's face scrunched up in thought before her face brightened back into a smile. "Oh! The place Lisanna was stuck for the last two years. But how did you end up here?"

"We don't know," Rogue said. "We ended up here a couple of weeks ago. We kind of hoped that you would know a way back."

"I'm afraid I don't know much about it, but from what Natsu and the others said, there is no way back. The gateways between our world and Edolas have been completely sealed."

Sting whimpered and buried his head on the counter. Rogue felt his heart drop. There was no going home for them. They were really stuck here.

"Lisanna should be back soon if you want to speak with her about it. Like I said, she lived there for the past two years while we all thought she was dead."

Rogue heard Sting crying softly into his arms. Normally, the sound would make him reach out to comfort the fragile boy, but today, it merely heightened his frustration with their circumstances. He stood suddenly.

"No. Thank you for the information, but we should take our leave now," Rogue said. He lifted Sting roughly and hustled him out the door with the others from the hut trailing behind. Once they were a suitable distance away from the guild, Rogue stopped and turned to the others.

"You can go back and join them if you want, but Sting and I are going. We'll figure out how to survive in this world on our own."

"I'd like to come with you," Hiro said. "You two seem to have really strong magic. I want to get strong, too. I don't ever want to be a victim again."

"Same here," Roxanne said. She bounced on the balls of her feet in her excitement.

"Yukino?" Rogue asked quietly. She stared at the ground for a moment in thought.

"There's someone I need to find," she whispered. "I would come with you, but there's something I have to do. I would say you could come with me, but I really need to go alone. It's important. I wish you all the best of luck, though."

Rogue felt a tiny piece of his heart crack. She wasn't the Yukino he knew, but she was close enough that this felt like losing her again. He knew he couldn't force her, though. He pulled her into a hug. Yukino froze for a moment before wrapping her arms around him, too.

"I'm sure we'll meet again," he muttered into her hair. He felt a slight nod against his shoulder, and he released her reluctantly. The group parted at the edge of town. Rogue kept turning to watch Yukino's retreating figure until she disappeared beneath the trees.

* * *

Rogue's hand grasped at rough scales as he pulled out of the memory. His heart still ached with the loss, even though he knew it wasn't his own emotion. He heard ragged breathing nearby. Feeling slowly returned to his limbs, and he groaned in agony, wishing the feeling would go away again.

"Rogue?" The ragged breathing slowed with Sting's voice. Arms reached out to turn him over, and Rogue stared up into his brother's face.

"What did I miss?" Rogue asked. Sting laughed happily.

"It worked. It fucking worked! This means we can definitely save Sunshine and Yukino. Thanks for being the guinea pig, by the way."

"Have we defeated evil me, yet?" Rogue asked. Sting glanced behind him and winced.

"Ah, not quite. Couple of people are keeping him busy though. I think they're with Fairy Tail. Maybe. Not entirely sure actually. Can you stand?"

Rogue sat up and rose to his feet with his brother's help. A strong feeling of déjà vu washed over him, and he winced at the slight pain it caused in his head. He suddenly knew how to defeat Edo-Rogue.


	27. Chapter 26: The Devil in I

**A/N: We're still with the Rogues. Enjoy! Let me know what you think :) And thanks to NoirShip for your continued support!**

* * *

Rogue leaned heavily on Sting as they approached the battle.

"Step away from him," Rogue said. His voice came out harsher than he intended, and the three were startled enough to actually halt their attacks. Rogue pushed away from Sting and approached his evil twin. Edo-Rogue watched him warily, uncertain how the man was standing at all.

"You should have kept Sting by your side," Rogue said quietly. "He could have pushed away your darkness before it consumed you. But there is another way."

Suddenly, Rogue's shadows coalesced around him and shot toward Edo-Rogue. The Edolas man tried to block, but his own shadows leaped out to welcome the other magic. He fell to his knees before slumping to the ground entirely.

"Now what?" Sting asked.

"Now we wait," Rogue said. Sting knelt down and began rummaging through Edo-Rogue's robes. He pulled out a small gray orb and handed it to Ultear.

"Do you know how to work this thing?" Sting asked.

"I can try," she said. She began examining the device with her magic while Sting and Rogue kept watch over the unconscious form of Edo-Rogue.

* * *

 _Flashback_

Rogue rolled his eyes at Sting's antics. Lector was laughing loudly and proclaiming Sting to be the greatest wizard alive as the blonde told a few of their guildmates about his latest adventure. The guildhall doors opened, and Rogue's eyes flicked towards them. A petite silver-haired young woman entered and looked around calmly. Everyone's eyes turned towards her, yet she seemed unperturbed by the attention.

"Who do I speak to about joining this guild?" She asked softly.

"That would be me," Minerva rose from a table by the wall and strode towards the girl. "We only accept the strongest wizards. Are you strong, little girl?"

"Yes," she said simply.

"Alright, then. We'll see how you fair against one of our own. Ruben." A brunette who had only joined the guild a couple of weeks before nearly tripped over himself in his haste to answer Minerva's summons. "We'll go to the training ground to see if you are worthy of joining us."

A few curious members followed the trio. Rogue considered watching, but he remained in his seat as Sting strolled outside. Not even ten minutes later, everyone returned, minus Ruben. Minerva placed the girl's guild mark on her side.

"Welcome to Sabertooth," Sting said with a smirk. The girl smiled for the first time. She turned to look around her, and her eyes landed on Rogue. She walked over to him with a small smile still in place.

"It's good to see you again," she said. Rogue blinked at her.

"Whoa, you guys know each other?" Sting asked as he came up behind her.

"We all know one another," she said, confusion beginning to show in her eyes.

"Sorry, cutie, but I'm not even sure what your name is," Sting said.

"It's Yukino," she whispered. "I'm sorry. I must have mistaken you for someone else. Please forgive my assumption."

"Hey, no worries," Sting said with a shrug. "But I have to admit I'm kind of surprised you could mistake us for anybody. I mean, we're the twin dragons of Sabertooth."

"Yeah, there's no one in the world as strong as the great Sting Eucliffe," Lector piped up.

"Rogue's strong, too!" Frosch said eagerly.

Yukino looked more uncomfortable, and she quickly excused herself.

"That was weird," Sting said after she left.

"Indeed." Rogue wracked his brain trying to remember encountering the silver-haired girl. Surely he would remember someone so pretty? He hastily ducked his head to conceal a blush at the thought. Oh well, now that she was a member of the guild, he was sure he would find out how she seemed to know them at some point.

.

.

.

"Rogue, listen to my voice."

Rogue floated in the midst of his rage. Anger and hate threatened to consume him completely as images of the chained children flashed through his mind. These men were monsters. The bodies of the other children had been the final straw. His vision tinged with black as he stared at the mass grave behind the dilapidated warehouse. The men had been defeated, and they were waiting for the Rune Knights to come collect them when they found the grave. Rogue stared at the body of a girl with silver hair, her eyes glassy in death, bruises coating her small frame. Power welled up within him, begging to be released. He wanted to end the miserable lives of the ones who did this.

"Rogue, listen to my voice."

A small part of him wanted to contain the rage. Bottle up the anger as he did all other emotions. He knew this level of anger was dangerous. But the darkness pressed at him, begging him to release this power and kill them all.

"Rogue, listen to my voice."

A voice outside of him kept speaking, but the words were muffled and incoherent.

"Rogue, listen to my voice."

The blackness crept further over his vision. He couldn't break his gaze from the unseeing eyes of the little girl.

"Rogue, listen to my voice."

Something stepped between them. Blue eyes without the glassy tinge of death. The image was fading as the shadows stole over his vision.

"Rogue, listen to my voice. You have to calm down. Stay with me. Don't give in to it. I'm here beside you."

White light emerged to highlight the blue eyes and bring them into greater focus. The shadows began to recede, and Rogue distantly recognized the voice of his brother. Sting. Sting was speaking to him. He needed to listen. Sting had helped him defeat the men who did this. The rage resurfaced at the reminder of those culpable.

"Rogue, listen to my voice. Ow. Shit. Calm the fuck down, bro. Your shadows are biting me."

Rogue blinked furiously as the white light surged to blind him. The shadows receded completely, and his vision returned fully. Sting stood in front of him rubbing his hand with a petulant look on his face.

"The fuck, man? Quit trying to go all rage monster on me."

"Sorry," Rogue said shortly. Sting smirked at him. He was pretty sure the blonde didn't know how to actually smile, just smirk.

"It's all good. Just keep that shit locked down, alright? Can't have you going all dark entity on me. How lame would the "formerly twin now only child of Sabertooth" sound?"

"Rogue, are you okay? Fro was worried," a small voice said from the ground. Rogue looked down to see his Exceed friend gazing up at him.

Rogue released a long breath and nodded at the Exceed. He'd come too close this time. Without Sting there to pull him back… Rogue shook off the thought. He was certain of few things in his life, but Rogue knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would always have his brother at his side to lend his light when Rogue faced the darkness.

.

.

.

"Yukino, wait," Rogue said. The woman continued moving down the street, so he reached out a hand and gripped her wrist. "Please, wait."

"Come to mock me, Rogue?" She asked. She wouldn't face him. Her defeat and ensuing humiliation were bad enough without him seeing her tears.

"This is wrong," he said softly. A small sob escaped her.

"It's the Sabertooth way. I knew that when I joined. It doesn't matter now. Please, let me go. You've always been strong; you shouldn't associate with someone as weak as I am." Yukino tried to pull away from his grasp, but Rogue held her fast. He turned her to face him and placed a hand under her chin so he could actually look at her. Her tear-filled eyes met his, and he wanted to rip apart the person who put those tears there.

"You are not weak. Everyone loses at some point. Jiemma is a fool to let someone as strong as you walk away from the guild."

"You'll be in trouble if anyone finds out you've talked to me," Yukino whispered. "Let me go, Rogue."

"And where will you go?" He asked. He couldn't bear the thought of never seeing her again.

"What does it matter?"

"I have to know we'll meet again."

Yukino laughed harshly.

"Do you really think we'll get a third chance, Rogue? You forgot me once; I'm sure you can do it again." She tried to jerk away from him, but he held her fast and brought his face closer to hers so that their noses practically touched.

"The first time I saw you was when you walked through the guild doors a year ago. I've tried and tried to think of a way that I could possibly have forgotten you. A spell? A blow to the head? Nothing makes sense. You are too special for me to forget you. If it was me that you knew then, I don't know how I was such a fool to let you go. And I won't make that mistake again. Please, Yuki, tell me where you're going." Yukino gasped. Even Rogue was slightly surprised at the length of his speech. Even when speaking to Yukino, he tended to keep things brief, but somehow she had invaded his mind and heart over the past year, and he had to try to keep her with him any way that he could.

"Fairy Tail," she said. "I'm going to give my keys to Lucy Heartfilia. After that, I don't know where I'll go. Maybe I'll join the guard at the castle."

"Give up your keys?" He knew how much her spirits meant to her. He knew how much trouble she'd had finding them and learning how to summon them. To just give them up…

"Yes, I'm not worthy of them. Lucy is a far better celestial wizard than I could ever hope to be. I know she'll take good care of them."

"But, Yuki—," Rogue started to protest, but she cut him off by closing the short distance between their lips. The pressure was gentle, and he kept the kiss chaste as he pulled her body closer to him. He knew she was trying to tell him goodbye, and he couldn't allow that.

"I can't let you go," he whispered as she broke the kiss.

"Rogue, if you really care about me, you must let me do this," she said with a sob. "I promise, as a celestial wizard, while I'm still a celestial wizard, I promise that I will tell you where I am when I find a place to stay. But I have to go now. And you do, too. If Minerva finds you with me…"

Rogue drew in a shuddering breath as he tried to take in as much of her scent as he could. He reluctantly released her. Yukino smiled at him sadly as she pulled away from his arms. Then, she turned and ran down the street without a backward glance. He followed her with his eyes until she disappeared around the corner. He had to fight the voice that was screaming at him to go after her. She'd promised she would let him know where she was going when she got there. That had to be enough for now.

* * *

Edo-Rogue gasped as Earthland Rogue's memories receded. He stared at the stars above him as a tear slid down his cheek. Love. He hadn't felt love since leaving Edolas. How long had it been? Seven years? Eight? Through the shadow memories he felt Rogue's love for Sting and Yukino and Frosch. He felt the rage pushed aside by that love.

He wanted to feel jealous of his counterpart. He wanted to feel envy that this other version of him had so much while he had only the dark. But he couldn't. His many sins washed over him: Sting, Hiro, Roxanne. Countless unnamed bodies lay at his feet, their blood coating his hands.

"Are you having any luck?" A voice to his left asked. He glanced over to see the man with blue hair who had attacked him earlier standing with the dark-haired woman. She held the rebirth device in her hands, and she shook her head.

"Let me take it," Edo-Rogue said. His throat felt hoarse as on the day his lacrima was implanted, when the dark road began. "Let me fix this."

"Why should we trust you?" The man asked.

"I was wrong," he said simply. He looked over at Rogue who was standing above him. "I was lost in the darkness of the shadows. I'm sure the taint of the device only hastened my descent. I forgot who I was. How much I cared for my brother and my friends. I have too many sins on my shoulders. Let me send the dragons back. Then turn me over to the Rune Knights. I will accept my punishment."

The purple dragon they rode on began to descend to the ground. When it settled among the ruined buildings, they followed Edo-Rogue to the ground. Ultear handed Edo-Rogue the Rebirth device.

"Don't you need the girls for this?" Sting asked.

"The device is already powered. I merely needed their magic to initiate it," Edo-Rogue said. He began chanting and the device glowed with a dark light. Magic power built in the air, and an awful keening began to reverberate through the streets. No one noticed as Sting vanished into the rubble of the broken city.


	28. Chapter 27: Bring Me to Life

**A/N: And we're nearly done with this arc. This chapter is one of my favorites, so I hope you like it, too!**

* * *

The dragons' keening reverberated through the destroyed buildings. Everyone covered their ears as the steel and ice dragons began to disintegrate back into skeletons. The bones crashed to the ground, and the awful sound died away into deafening silence. The gray figures vanished with them, and the Fairy Tail members began shouting and celebrating, but Natsu's eyes were fixed on his best friends, silhouetted against the flames that still raged in some of the fallen buildings. Happy hovered in the air at Lucy's shoulder; both still had solid black eyes. And neither looked pleased by the turn of events.

"This isn't over, yet," Natsu said. Only Gray and Gajeel heard him. They followed his gaze to the blonde and unconsciously took up battle stances. Lucy put a hand on her hip and laughed. The twisted sound bubbled up from her throat. The wrongness of it brought everyone's attention back to her.

"We don't want to fight you, Lucy," Gray called out. "We just want to help you get back to normal. The dragons are gone, which means Rogue probably is, too. Come back to us."

She stopped laughing and stared at him with dead eyes.

"You think I care that the dragons are gone?" She asked quietly. "You think I care that Rogue has been defeated? Fuck the dragons. Fuck Rogue. I only helped him because I want to watch things burn. I don't need Rogue to do that, though. I can destroy you on my own."

She pulled out a golden key.

"I'm so sorry about this, Luce," Natsu whispered. Then, he let out a full-powered fire dragon's roar directly at her. A scream tore through the air, and when the smoke cleared, Lucy stood as she had been but her eyes were wide with shock. A small figure hovered in the air in front of her for a moment before crumpling to the ground; its fur was singed so badly that it was impossible to tell the original blue color.

"Natsu, you don't want to hurt Lucy," the Exceed mumbled before passing out.

"Little blue?" Lucy whispered. She knelt down and picked up the cat gently to cradle him to her chest. "I didn't mean you, you stupid cat. When I said I wanted to watch things burn, I didn't mean you."

"Happy…" Natsu said. He looked stricken, and it hurt even more to know that could have been Lucy instead. He just wanted to burn the shadows out of her, to wash away the taint of Edo-Rogue. He could have killed her. Natsu hit his knees, and a tear slid down his cheek. He hadn't thought what the fire could do instead of freeing her. Now, he didn't know if Happy would survive the blast.

As Natsu stared blankly ahead, Lucy gently laid the Exceed among the nearest dragon bones. Shadows swirled around her wildly as she stood back up to face her guildmates.

"Now you really will suffer," she said flatly. She pulled out a key.

"I don't want to fight you, Lucy," Natsu said. "Happy was right. I don't want to hurt you."

"I'll fight you," a new voice said. Everyone turned to see Sting standing next to the remains of the ice dragon with his smirk firmly in place and his arms crossed over his chest. He strode closer to Lucy, and she quirked an eyebrow at him.

"And you are?"

"Oh, forgotten me already, Sunshine? I'm wounded," Sting said. He brought a hand to his chest and sighed in mock dejection. "And after we had so much fun together."

"Cut it out, Sting," Natsu snapped. "I won't let anyone hurt Luce."

Sting strolled up to Natsu and bent down to where the fire dragon slayer was still kneeling. He leaned in to speak quietly.

"I know what I'm doing, Natsu. You can't help her now. I can. Stay out of it."

He straightened again, and the two slayers stared at each other for a long moment before Natsu gave a minute nod. Sting smirked and turned back to face Lucy.

"So how about it, Sunshine? You wanna go?"

Lucy's evil giggle bubbled up again.

"Sure you can handle me, hot stuff?"

"Oh, I know I can, but I have a condition: just you and me, no spirits," he said.

"Fine by me," Lucy replied. Shadows formed around her hands as more wisps coated the rest of her body.

Sting concentrated his power into his fists as he lunged at the blonde. She dodged the hits while striking at him with the butt of her whip. They ducked and weaved through the dragon skeletons while throwing kicks and punches at each other. Neither held anything back. Sting glanced a blow off her shoulder as Lucy nicked his calf with a kick. Sting grinned as they kicked up dust, and Lucy answered with a grin of her own.

"You're pretty good at this, Sunshine," Sting said. He crouched to dodge a high kick and came up punching. She twirled away from the hit as she threw a fist at his ribs. He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him to whisper, "Makes me wonder what other physical activities you'd be good at."

"Oh I just bet you'd like to find out," Lucy said huskily. "Maybe after I kick your ass, you can. If I don't kill you, that is."

She kneed upward, aiming for his crotch, but Sting released her arm and jumped backwards. He punched at her stomach with a fist coated in white light, which she blocked with shadow-covered arms. The shadows burned away at his touch, and Lucy leaped away from him, hissing from the slight pain.

"You know, it's kind of refreshing that you aren't spouting some bullshit about getting me back to normal or how I'm not still the woman you fell in love with," Lucy said as she launched a fist of shadows at his face. Sting stepped back from the blow, catching her arm once more and pulling her close.

"Oh but you are the woman I fell in love with, Sunshine," Sting whispered in her ear. Lucy gripped his wrist and used his body as a balance to flip over him, kicking him in the back as he lost his hold on her. He surveyed her for a moment as she glared at him. "The others don't see it: the sassy, strong woman with a bit of a sadistic twist. They don't want to see it because you only show them the brightness of the sun and a kind heart. But I know this side of you has always been in there. Even the sun has spots of darkness."

He smirked before leaping back at her. Lucy was too preoccupied with puzzling through his words to react in time. Sting tackled her to the ground, and she once again found herself pinned under a man with her hands and legs trapped. She opened her mouth to call out a spirit, but Sting had both of her wrists clasped in one hand, and the other came up to cover her mouth.

"Ah, ah, nope, not happening, Sunshine," he said. "I don't know if you'll remember any of this after it's over, but I want you to know, I love your light and your darkness. The brilliant glow you show the world and those little specks of black you bury so deep I'm not sure you even know they're there. And I feel lucky to have seen them in our brief encounters. I like you when you're bubbly, and I'm definitely liking you the way you are right now."

Lucy stared up at him. She wanted desperately to break free of his grasp. She didn't like being caged like this. But she couldn't stop listening. She only had a few hours' worth of memories, but she felt that this—this acceptance—was something she wanted.

"As much as I love your darkness, it's time to bring you back to the light, so you can decide for yourself if you want to keep hiding it. A white dragon's holy light purifies all it touches. But I'll see if I can help kiss away the pain." Sting smirked as he finished his spiel. He bent down and removed his hand so his lips could meet hers. She found herself returning the kiss as a blinding white light surrounded them. Lucy felt it searing every part of her as the shadows that had clouded her mind withered and died. Sting's mouth captured her scream as pain enveloped her. But as soon as the pain came, it vanished, soothed by the purifying air of the white light and the distraction of his lips on hers.

Sting broke the kiss as the light faded. Lucy saw only spots as she tried to blink away the haze. He stood up and offered her a hand. She took it gingerly. He released her hand instantly when she regained her feet. Lucy stared around and tried to make sense of her surroundings. She seemed to be standing inside a giant skeleton.

 _Dragons. Shadows. Darkness._

The words whispered through her mind, but Lucy couldn't seem to make sense of the words or the images that accompanied them. She shook her head and turned to the dragon slayer beside her.

"I don't know that I've ever seen you without a smirk, kitty cat," she said lightly. Immediately, the smirk appeared. "Oh, there it is. Guess whatever's happened isn't really that bad after all."

"I'll let your guild fill you in, Sunshine," Sting said. "Come on. I'm sure they're waiting on us."

He led her out of the skeleton and over some rubble to the waiting members of Fairy Tail. Natsu held a still unconscious Happy close to his body. Most of the guild members were either seated or leaning on someone for support.

"Lucy, is it you?" Gray asked. He pulled himself from where he had been leaning on Juvia's shoulder to take a tentative step towards Lucy.

"Yeah, who else would it be?" Lucy asked in confusion. "What's going on?"

"Wait, we have to make sure it really is her," Cana said. "The first night in town we played a game, and you had to confess something. What was it and who to?"

Lucy blushed profusely and stammered incoherently for a minute before steadfastly refusing to answer the question.

"That's her!" Cana yelled happily. The guild members rushed her, and Lucy found herself at the epicenter of the largest group hug she had ever witnessed. Sting hung back not far from where Natsu was still crouched.

"Thanks for bringing her back, Sting," Natsu muttered. He stared down at Happy and wondered if the cat would be alright.

"Didn't do it for you," Sting said. "And don't worry about the Exceed. I'm sure he'll be fine. I don't sense Rogue's shadows in him. I doubt he was as heavily dosed as Lucy was, so your fire was probably sufficient to get rid of them, if a bit heavy-handed."

Sting turned to walk away; he had his own Exceed friend to find. He paused to throw one last glance at Sunshine. He could just barely see her face through the bodies swarming around her. She was smiling uncertainly as she tried to make sense of the things they were yelling over each other. He smiled slightly as he made his way through the debris. He was going to miss Dark Lucy; actually, he was going to miss Lucy in general.


	29. Chapter 28: Atonement

**A/N: Thanks to NoirShip, EchizenRyoma, and lena babyyyyy for reviewing! So I've almost completely written this thing. There's approximately ten more chapters after this to complete the story (unless it takes on a mind of its own again and goes on a new tangent, that is). We'll get back to the main peeps soon, but first, have some Rokino :)**

* * *

The dragon beside them faded into dust as the bones settled heavily to the ground. Rogue watched his other self sink to his knees, awaiting his punishment. He glanced around for his brother only to find that Sting had vanished. _Going after Lucy_ , he thought. _Then, I should find Yukino._

"Will you stay with him? There's something I have to do," Rogue said. The man and woman nodded, and Rogue took off through the city to find his celestial wizard.

Edo-Rogue stared at the ground. He could feel the taint of the dark shadows pressing on him, but he refused to give in to them again. He held up the orb, and one of his two guards took it from him.

"Please, destroy it," Edo-Rogue whispered.

"That is our intention," the woman said. There was a long silence before the man crouched down to bring his face level with Edo-Rogue's.

"Tell me. Do you truly seek atonement?" He asked.

"Yes, that's why I'm letting you hand me over."

"And how will you atone there? How will sitting in a prison cell help you to overcome the wrongs you have done to others?"

Edo-Rogue glanced up at him warily. The blue-haired man's face and tone were expressionless, but his eyes carried an intensity the other man had never felt.

"I am not safe to have out in the world," he said. "And where would I go? How else could I even begin to make up for what I've done since coming to this world?"

Ultear spoke next. She told him of her past sins in manipulating Jellal and trying to find Zeref. She told him of forming Crime Sorciere, the independent guild that fought the evil of Zeref and tried to keep it from spreading. The three members of the guild were all seeking redemption.

"You cannot guarantee that my shadows will not darken again," Edo-Rogue said with a shake of his head. "Sting and Rogue will not be there to keep me from falling into darkness a second time."

"No, they will not," Jellal said. "But we will. How long has it been since you had friends, Rogue?"

Sting's tear-filled eyes as the white light surrounding him was overtaken by shadows. Hiro's sword shattering under the weight of Rogue's attack. And Roxanne lying unseeing on the ground, blood spilling around her. The images flashed through his mind, and he closed his eyes as the pain of their loss finally swept through him.

"Too long."

"Come with us, Rogue. With Crime Sorciere, you can find your redemption if such is possible. It's far better than rotting in a cell with no hope of atonement, I assure you."

Edo-Rogue took the proffered hand and rose to his feet.

"Ryos. My name was Ryos. This world already has a Rogue, and he does not deserve to have his name tainted by me."

"Very well, Ryos." Jellal turned and began walking through the debris. "We should go before the castle guards or Rune Knights begin showing up to find out what happened."

* * *

Rogue sprinted through the city trying to catch any hint of where Yukino might be. He passed a group from Lamia Scale and then the women from Mermaid Heel. All were badly wounded, but none had encountered Yukino. Rogue kept running. His breath was beginning to grow ragged, but he kept pushing. He had to find her.

He stumbled into a square with another dragon skeleton to find Blue Pegasus and some Fairy Tail members gathered in a circle. He ran towards them.

"Has anyone seen Yukino?" He yelled.

"You," the giant lightning dragon slayer snarled as all heads turned to look at him. "I hear you're the one causing all this trouble."

"Not me," Rogue said with a shake of his head. "My Edolas counterpart."

The She-Demon gasped.

"The boy from the bar. He never told me his name. I'd forgotten all about him," she said. The others gave her questioning looks, but Rogue nodded. He figured she could explain it to them later.

"Do you know where Yukino is? I have to fix what he's done to her," he said. The crowd parted and he saw Yukino curled on the ground with the little blue-haired slayer kneeling beside her.

"Yuki," Rogue whispered before rushing to her. She tossed her head slightly, but her eyes remained closed. He knelt down and gently placed a hand on her cheek. "Wake up, Yuki."

Her eyes opened slowly, and his heart dropped at the solid black orbs that greeted him.

"We lost," she said. "I'm sorry I failed you, Rogue."

"It's okay," he whispered. "I'm going to fix it. This may hurt a little."

He channeled his magic through the palm on her face and shadows swirled around them both. Her eyes snapped closed, and she grimaced, but the pain quickly subsided. The evil shadows didn't fight as hard as Rogue had expected. When she opened her eyes again a few moments later, he smiled at the sight of her light brown eyes gazing up at him.

"Rogue!" She exclaimed. Her arms flew around his neck. He held her close as she sobbed into his neck. "I knew. I knew it wasn't you, but he…The other Rogue. I knew him. I couldn't turn away from him."

"I know, Yuki," Rogue said soothingly. He ran a hand through her hair. "He showed me the memory."

"You really aren't the boy who saved me when I was a child," she whispered.

"No, I'm not. I'm sorry."

She pulled back to look into his face. He would never get tired of seeing her brown eyes gazing up at him, though he could do without the tears. He brushed a drop from her cheek with his thumb. Someone cleared their throat behind him.

"I love that you guys are now all open and shit, but seriously, we've still got a couple of Exceeds to find," Sting said. Rogue turned slightly to glare at his brother. He wasn't really surprised to see him there. Sting had a way of showing up at the most (or sometimes least) opportune moments.

"I also wouldn't mind knowing what the hell is going on," Laxus said gruffly.

"Ask Natsu. He and most of your guild are with Lucy now."

"Is Lucy back to normal?" Wendy asked. She wrung her hands anxiously.

"She's good," Sting said shortly. "Doesn't remember anything, though. Not sure if it'll come back to her later. Rogue, let's go."

Rogue turned back to Yukino. He'd just gotten her back. He couldn't leave her again. The night she left the guild nearly broke him, and with everything that had happened…

Yukino clutched his arm and offered a small smile.

"I'll come with you. I doubt I'll still be welcome at Fairy Tail after the things I've done today."

"Don't be silly," Mira said. She crouched down to pull both of them into a hug. "You belong with Fairy Tail. No one will blame you for this. You weren't in control any more than Lucy was. We're your friends, Yukino. You're my little sister now. How would Lisanna feel if you left us so suddenly?"

"But I'm not even a member of the guild."

"It's not like we can't stamp you when we get back to the inn," Laxus said. "If we still have an inn, that is."

Yukino looked between the slight scowl of Laxus and the smiling faces of Wendy and Mira. Tears started streaming from her eyes again. She couldn't leave her new family, not when she finally had one. But Rogue…

"And we can't leave your boyfriend in the cold since Sabertooth is probably going to disband anyway. We've always got room for another slayer," Mira said with a giggle.

"What do you think?" Yukino asked Rogue.

"Where you go, I go," he said. "But Sting?"

Rogue turned to see his brother's reaction to all of this, but the white dragon slayer had vanished as suddenly as he came. His brow furrowed slightly. He sighed. Sting probably got tired of waiting and went to find the Exceeds. Rogue stood, pulling Yukino up with him.

"We should find the rest of Fairy Tail. I have a feeling it's still going to be a long night," Rogue said.


	30. Chapter 29: One Normal Night

**A/N: Thanks to the Guest and NoirShip for talking to me :) I love hearing what you think of the story!**

* * *

It was several hours later before the guild had all managed to gather back at the inn, which was only missing a few rooms off the top floor. They'd had to answer question after question from Lahar, the captain of the Rune Knights, as well as Colonel Arcadios, who led the castle guard. Edo-Rogue had vanished. Erza had a hunch as to his whereabouts when Rogue told her he left his counterpart with Ultear and Jellal, but she kept the suspicion to herself. Meredy had stayed with Fairy Tail to fight the dragon and the souls, but she vanished soon after the adversaries did, and the other two members of Crime Sorciere had not appeared again, either. Erza also had a hunch that she hadn't seen the last of Jellal and his band of merry Zeref fighters.

The evacuated city dwellers were filtering back in, though many didn't have homes to go back to. Those with relatively intact homes were opening them up to as many refugees as could fit. The cleanup effort would begin the next day and all of the guilds had offered their assistance.

Lucy listened as various members told what they knew about the incident. She still only had hazy images and disjointed phrases floating through her mind. She wanted to curl up into a ball and hide when people recounted her actions. She was embarrassed that she had attacked her guildmates, and some of the things she said… Granted, she had to admit, she sounded like a total badass, so a small part of her wasn't completely upset about it.

Gray hadn't left her side since she had come back to herself. He kept touching her arm or hair lightly as though he was trying to be sure she was really there. On the other hand, Natsu kept his distance from both her and Happy. The blue Exceed had been healed by Wendy, so he was now back to his usual self. The only difference anyone could note was that he too stayed unusually close to Lucy.

Lisanna and Levy were the last to drift into the inn. Lisanna carried Frosch in her arms, but the Exceed immediately wiggled to be put down when he caught sight of Rogue sitting with Yukino.

"Frosch!" Rogue exclaimed as he grabbed the Exceed and squeezed him tightly. "Did you not find Lector?"

"Lector was with us as we left the city, but after the dragons appeared, Sting showed up and took him," Lisanna explained. She handed Rogue a crumpled scrap of paper with barely legible writing scrawled on it. "He asked us to bring Frosch back, and he wrote this for you."

 _Bro, I'm leaving. You should join FT. I know it'll make Yuki happy. We'll meet again someday. Promise._

 _-Sting_

"That idiot," Rogue muttered. Part of him wanted to laugh that Sting had signed the note like an autograph to one of his adoring fans, but he was a little too pissed about the rest of the contents. He crushed the paper in his hand. Who was going to pull him back from the edge if he headed towards darkness? He was just supposed to join a guild without his brother? And what about Sting's precious Sunshine?

"Rogue, what's wrong?" Yukino asked. She laid a hand on his arm, and as he looked into her eyes, he had an answer to his first question at least. He sighed.

"Sting left. He didn't say where," Rogue told her. He looked over as he felt other eyes on him. Gray was speaking animatedly to Lucy about something, but the blonde's eyes were on Rogue. He added slightly louder, "I'm sure he'll be back at some point."

Lucy held his gaze for a moment longer before turning to respond to what Gray was saying. Rogue found it interesting that Lucy had no solid memories of the day's events while Yukino recalled everything she had done, said or felt.

It made sense in a way, he mused as he sat back down with Yukino. Sting had burned away the tainted shadows. He left not even a hint of Edo-Rogue within the blond girl. But Rogue had merely used his shadows to morph the tainted shadows into something that wasn't pure evil. He wondered if he should have had Sting burn the shadows out of Yukino, as well, but he loved that he could still feel remnants of his magic humming within his (now official) girlfriend's small body.

* * *

A few days into the cleanup, the king threw a giant party for the guilds who had helped to combat the dragons and stayed to help restore order to the city. Lucy glanced around the room at all the wizards decked out in borrowed finery. Her corset chafed a bit beneath the deep blue satin dress; she just wasn't used to this type of clothing anymore. For once Gray wasn't hanging onto her. He was too busy being accosted by Lyon and Juvia, though also for a first, the conversation didn't seem completely repulsive to him. She idly wondered what that was about before turning her attention to the rest of her guildmates.

Cana and Bacchus had taken up residence by the bar to no one's surprise. Erza and Millianna were catching up while both cooing over Frosch in his pink frog costume. Rogue watched them warily a short distance away where he had his arm wrapped around Yukino's waist. A very pink-cheeked Kagura gestured wildly as she talked to Yukino about the life debt; she couldn't seem to make up her mind if she wanted to nullify the bet due to recent events or force Yukino to leave Fairy Tail for Mermaid Heel. Lucy watched with interest as a tick formed above Rogue's generally impassive brow. She was pretty sure he didn't care what guild they joined, but he couldn't follow Yukino to the all-female Mermaid Heel. After several more minutes of this, Rogue couldn't hold it in anymore and yelled that he would gladly combat Kagura for the price of Yukino's life.

"He loooves her," Happy said at her shoulder. He giggled.

"That's pretty obvious, little blue," Lucy said with an answering laugh. "Have you seen Natsu?"

"No," Happy said, shaking his head dejectedly. "Even if he is here, he'll probably just keep avoiding us."

Lucy sighed and pulled the cat from the air to hug him.

"We just need to give him some time. I don't know what's bothering him, but I'm sure he'll tell us when he's ready," Lucy said. She looked down and smiled mischievously. "That or the fire idiot will forget that he's avoiding us and the whole thing will blow over anyway."

"Aye!" Happy said with a snicker.

"Don't let the pyro get to you, Bunny," Gajeel's rough voice came from just behind her. Lucy turned and had to blink a few times to be sure she wasn't hallucinating. His black hair was pulled back in a barely tamed ponytail with a few locks sticking out around his face. His coat and tails fit better than some of the borrowed clothes, and Lucy had to admit, he looked damn good.

"Oh don't worry about me, handsome," Lucy said with a giggle. "Natsu and I will figure it out. By the way, have you seen Levy?"

Gajeel blushed furiously, though Lucy wasn't sure if it was due to the mention of the bookworm or the throwaway comment. She actually wasn't sure why she'd called him that. Lucy had zero interest in Gajeel, and not just because she was 99.8% sure that her friend was head over heels for him. Lucy shook her head at her own musings as Gajeel excused himself hurriedly, probably to find said bookworm.

"My beloved, shall we dance? A woman as beautiful as you shouldn't be standing alone at a party," Loke said as he materialized at Lucy's side, wearing his usual black suit. He grabbed her hands and pulled her towards the open floor. Lucy thought about closing his gate, but she laughed instead and let him pull her away.

"Why yes, I would like to dance," Lucy said. She did push him back a bit when Loke pulled her in just that little bit too close.

"What's with the new hairstyle?" She asked. Lucy kind of liked the way it flowed down his back in a wave of touchable orange, but it was still strange.

"Don't you like it?" Loke asked petulantly.

"I think it suits you," she said before quietly changing the subject as they danced. "Has Grandpa Crux found anything about why you guys changed with me? Or anything about Rebirth?"

"He's still searching. You know him, trying to be as thorough as possible. Plus it's such an odd combination of magic that went into your transformation, and ours, of course, that it's possible that nothing even similar has ever occurred," Loke whispered in her ear. The warmth of his breath made her shiver. She knew he was taking the liberty on purpose, but she let him. They both knew it was all part of his persona rather than a serious interest. He would never admit it, but as much as Loke did adore Lucy, she was still human and he was still immortal. That was something that couldn't be overcome, and he wouldn't bother trying. It didn't stop him from flirting.

"Tainted shadow dragon slayer lacrima magic with a dash of dark time magic and Zeref? Yeah, I'd say that's odd," Lucy agreed.

"And the fact that it was holy elemental dragon slayer magic that broke the spell," Loke agreed. "I'm sure he'll find something, though. Crux has never let us down before."

"Mind if I cut in?" Someone said to their left. Lucy expected Loke to refuse and spout something about the interloper coming between true love, but he merely kissed her hand before placing it in the other man's and returning to the spirit world. Lucy looked up into Gray's dark eyes, and the action made more sense. Gray was one of Loke's closest friends when he had been a member of the guild, and the two understood each other very well. She caught Gray eyeing Loke warily before he disappeared, but she shrugged it off as confusion at his new choice of hairstyle and let Gray lead her in the start of a new dance.

"Finally escaped the love-struck duo?" Lucy asked with a grin. Gray chuckled.

"In more ways than one," he said. "Juvia tried to let me down easy, though I really think she was trying to give me an opportunity to change my mind."

"So Lyon?"

"Yeah, that's a thing now. Suits me. They can focus their crazy love on each other without dragging me into it." He smiled at her softly, and pulled her in close as they danced. Lucy let herself sink into the solid feel of him as they moved slowly across the floor.

"It's good to see you back to yourself," Gray whispered against her hair. Lucy smiled into his chest, but another voice popped into her head, _You know, it's kind of refreshing that you aren't spouting some bullshit about getting me back to normal or that I'm not the woman you fell in love with_. It sounded like her own voice, but the tone was something she wasn't used to hearing come out of her mouth.

 _Oh but you are the woman I fell in love with, Sunshine... Even the sun has spots of darkness._

Sting? Was that Sting's voice? Lucy pulled back from Gray to look around the room. She knew the white dragon slayer wasn't present. But she could still feel him in her mind. She felt Gray's quizzical gaze on her, and she turned back to him to smile in reassurance. The words felt like a memory, but she had no context for them. Shaking off the feeling of missing something important, Lucy leaned back into her dance partner and tried to enjoy the rest of the evening.

A little while later, they joined Cana at the bar for refreshments.

"Well, don't you two look cozy," Cana said with a wink. Her smile grew devilish, and she added, "Even Dark Lucy couldn't keep her lips off of Gray."

"What?!" Lucy shrieked as she turned bright pink. Several heads turned to look at her, and the blush grew as she stammered for Cana to explain herself. Gray's face remained emotionless save for the faintest tint of pink on his cheeks.

"I couldn't hear what you two were saying because we were still trying to get free from all the damn sand, but BDSM Virgo had him restrained while the dark version of you planted a big ol' kiss—." Lucy slapped a hand over Cana's mouth. She felt like her face was going to melt from the rush of blood in her embarrassment.

"I get the picture! Alright, enough," Lucy said. She glared menacingly at Cana before removing her hand. Gray pulled her against him and she felt his laugh rumble through his chest pressed against her mostly exposed back.

"Gray, where's your shirt?" Lucy asked. He leapt away from her with a startled cry and started frantically searching for his missing clothing. Lucy laughed happily as she watched him running around the room. It was nice to have things back to normal.

 _You know, it's kind of refreshing that you aren't spouting some bullshit about getting me back to normal_ , the familiar voice whispered again.


	31. Chapter 30: The Difference Between Us

**A/N: Thanks to lena babyyyyy and NoirShip for reviewing! And thanks to those who have followed and faved :)**

* * *

After a long week of helping to clear away debris and begin the rebuilding effort, Fairy Tail was finally home in Magnolia. They had been greeted by a huge crowd and received their old guildhall with some updates as a gift from the mayor. Yukino moved in with the Strauss siblings while Gray offered Rogue a spare room in his apartment and even offered to travel with him to the town where Sabertooth was formerly located to get his things. The gesture surprised everyone until Cana pointed out that Lucy had mentioned on the trip back that she was worried about what would happen to the shadow slayer when they made it home.

"Gray's just being a good friend to our new guildmate. It has nothing to do with me," Lucy declared.

"Right, because Gray wanting to make you happy is such a weird idea," Cana said, rolling her eyes.

Lucy was sitting at the bar between Cana and Lisanna while Mira cleaned some glasses across from them. Yukino had gone with Rogue and Gray to retrieve her things, as well. Lucy had wanted to go, but they left before she returned to the guild the day they headed out. She had a suspicion that their hasty departure had been Gray's doing; she just wasn't sure why.

"Face it, Lucy, Gray is head over heels for you. I hope you'll give him a chance," Mira said. Her words were soft, but there was a slightly manic glint in her pretty eyes.

"I am giving him a chance," Lucy said. Part of her still hoped that Natsu would be able to return her affections, but with his continued avoidance of her, she was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. And she'd be damned if she was going to wait around for him to make up his mind any longer.

 _You're supposed to be the woman I love, and I want her back._

Lucy blinked and rubbed her temple as Gray's sad voice drifted through her mind. She kept having these moments where she heard voices, either her own or people that she knew, saying things that made no sense. Sometimes images accompanied the voices, but those were far rarer. Most often she heard herself, though sometimes Sting's words would flit by. They were always disjointed phrases, and they only served to confuse her further. This was the first time she had heard Gray.

"You okay, Lucy?" Lisanna asked. She glanced up to see the three women giving her worried looks.

"I'm fine," Lucy said a little too brightly. "It's just a small headache. It happens sometimes."

"You know you can talk to us if something is wrong, right Luce?" Cana asked.

"I know, but really, I'm okay. There's nothing to worry about."

They didn't look convinced, but the women dropped the subject and everyone switched to talking about how they'd probably being seeing a lot of Lyon and Sherria of Lamia Scale despite the distance between the guild halls. Lucy excused herself soon afterward and made her way back to her apartment. She thought about working on her novel, but she decided to take a short nap first. Lucy crawled into her bed and pulled the covers over herself to create a cocoon.

* * *

She was walking through a forest of bones. Dust permeated the air and jagged rocks rose up around the massive skeletons. Dark mists swirled around her, but she wasn't afraid of the desolate location or the shadows that surrounded her. A deep-seated need filled her, but she wasn't sure exactly _what_ she needed. Lucy continued walking through the silent graveyard until she saw a figure of a man rise up in front of her.

He faced away from her, but even his back seemed oddly familiar. She felt a tug somewhere in her gut, and Lucy's steps quickened to reach him. Just a few feet from him, he turned to look at her. A cocky smirk curved his lips, and his blue eyes sparkled with mischief. A scar hovered above one eye, just beneath his spiky blond locks. She knew that face, didn't she?

She didn't remember closing the distance, but she suddenly found herself only a couple of inches from him as she reached out to trace a finger over his scar.

"Miss me, Sunshine?" He murmured.

"Who are you?"

"Forgotten me already? I'm wounded. And after we had so much fun together," he said in mock dejection. Lucy frowned. She'd heard those words somewhere before.

"Give her back to me," another voice said just behind her. Lucy turned to see a man with black hair and dark eyes; his skin radiated cold, which made her shiver for more than one reason.

"Fine," the blond man said. He reached out and cupped her cheek. She didn't want him to leave, but she could see the goodbye in his eyes, and damn if it didn't hurt. "I'll see if I can kiss away the pain," he whispered.

* * *

Lucy woke up with a gasp. She could still feel the press of his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around herself as she tried to feel warm again. The bits of memory were invading her dreams now. She knew that Sting had somehow freed her from the shadows, but she didn't know how. No one had been with them when it happened, and Sting had disappeared before he could fill anyone else in. Actually, nobody but Lucy seemed to care how he did it; they were just happy to have her back. But Lucy wanted to know. She needed to know.

Lucy felt a tear slide down her cheek. She wasn't even sure why she was crying, but suddenly, she felt so alone.

"Lucy," a deep voice called to her softly. She looked up in time to recognize Gray just before his arms encircled her. He lay back on the bed, pulling her into his chest. He was predictably shirtless, but she wasn't complaining this time. She curled around the comfort his strong body offered. She hadn't expected him back so soon or to break into her apartment uninvited, but she definitely wasn't complaining about those things, either.

"Tell me what's wrong," he whispered as he stroked her back.

"I wish I knew," Lucy said. "The shadows are gone, but… I keep having these flashes of memory. They don't make any sense. I just want to remember what happened while I was… not me. I feel like I'm missing something important."

"I'm sure it will come back to you," Gray said after a few moments. "You're still Lucy, though."

"Still the woman you love?" Lucy whispered. Gray tensed, but he relaxed again almost instantly.

"You always will be," he said.

"I heard your voice earlier. I was sitting in the bar, and I just heard you say 'You're supposed to be the woman I love, and I want her back.' Did that happen?"

"Yeah, when you were attacking us, before Natsu showed up, pretty sure that's what I said."

Lucy remained silent. So they were memories. She hadn't been certain before. Then that meant that the things she heard Sting say… Lucy drifted off to sleep still lying on Gray's bare chest. He stared at the ceiling and listened to her even breathing while one hand kept trailing up and down her back and the other moved gently through her hair.

Gray wondered what had happened between her and Sting during their fight. He remembered glancing up from the group hug to see Sting looking at Lucy before he turned to leave. It had seemed like a look of goodbye, but Gray couldn't be sure. It was the reason he didn't want Lucy to come with him to help Yukino and Rogue move their things. Virgo would have been really helpful for that, but Gray had been worried that Sting would be somewhere in the town or even in the apartment he had shared with Rogue.

It was a needless worry. Rogue had commented that Sting had been there at some point in the last week, but the blonde dragon slayer didn't appear while they were present.

Jealousy burned in his chest whenever he thought of the slayer. Gray hadn't been able to save Lucy from the shadows, but Sting had. The ice mage tried to rationalize that it was just Sting's magic that made it work; if Gray'd had that type of magic, he could have done it, too. The thought didn't help much.

He glanced down at the sleeping blonde and tried to will the jealousy away. In the end, Lucy was back at his side, and Sting was nowhere to be found. Gray hoped it would stay that way.


	32. Chapter 31: Blame it on the Changes

**A/N: NoirShip, I dig how you pretty much follow my thought patterns haha. Here's the Natsu ;) Thanks to everyone who keeps following and favoriting!**

* * *

Lucy had tried to give Natsu space during the week in Crocus and the two weeks since they had been home. She wanted to know what was bothering her partner, but he was completely avoiding her, and Lucy was starting to lose patience. Happy ended up sleeping at Lucy's apartment most nights because he said being around Natsu made him sad. The fire slayer would barely talk to him, and he wouldn't say what was wrong.

"Do you think he's mad that we fought everybody?" Happy asked sadly as he curled up next to Lucy in her bed with the moonlight streaming through the window.

"That doesn't make sense. We don't even remember doing those things, and no one else in the guild blames us. Natsu is usually the most forgiving person in the guild," Lucy muttered. She stifled a yawn with her hand and cuddled the cat closer.

"What else could it be then?" Happy whispered.

"I don't know, little blue," Lucy said. She wasn't sure when she started calling the Exceed that, but it had just seemed to stick. "Tell you what, tomorrow at the guild, I'll make him talk to us, okay? He's been sulking over whatever it is for long enough now."

"Okay, Lucy," Happy said uncertainly. The two drifted off to sleep, unaware of the figure crouched just out of sight on the edge of the windowsill.

Lucy didn't have to corner Natsu after all. He was waiting for her outside her apartment the next morning. He had deep bags under his bloodshot eyes, and she was pretty sure he hadn't slept that night and possibly for several nights. He grabbed her hand and dragged her down the street. Happy followed in the air. Natsu didn't stop until they reached the giant tree where he had asked to borrow Virgo to dig for treasure. He released her hand and stared at the ground for a while. Lucy just waited for him to begin. Happy perched nervously on her head, and he wasn't in the mood to be as patient as Lucy.

"Natsu, why don't you like us anymore?" Happy asked. Natsu looked up with a frown.

"Of course I still like you," he said. He absently ran a hand through his messy pink hair.

"Then, are you mad at us for fighting you with the dragons?"

"No, buddy. I'm not mad at you," Natsu said. He groaned and rubbed at his face. "I'm mad at me."

"So you're punishing us because you did something stupid?" Lucy asked. She tried to make it a joke, but Natsu's face remained serious.

"Basically. I know it's wrong, but I don't deserve to be around you two. I nearly killed you," Natsu said. He punched the tree next to him and several leaves drifted down around them. Happy and Lucy just stared at him. They knew that Happy had been burned by Natsu, but nobody had really explained how that happened. There were so many other things to tell that somehow that detail had slipped by. Lucy had assumed it was an accident during the fighting.

"You mean burning Happy?" She asked. "I seriously doubt you did it on purpose."

"That's the thing, Luce, I did do it on purpose," Natsu said. He wouldn't look at them. "But I wasn't aiming at Happy. He got in the way to protect you."

"Natsu," Lucy whispered as she moved towards him, but Happy beat her to him. The blue cat brought a paw forcefully against the slayer's cheek with a loud crack and glared at him.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself!" Happy exclaimed. "I still don't remember much, but I do know that we were trying to kill you. And we would have laughed as you died. If you were trying to burn Lucy, you must have had a good reason for it. So stop pretending you did it to hurt either of us, you idiot!"

Happy rubbed roughly at the tears streaming down his face. Lucy stepped up and took Natsu's face in her hands.

"Happy's right. I've heard enough about my actions to know that I would have been glad to see you seriously injured if not dead. Besides, there's no way you attacked with the intent to kill. And look at us, we're still breathing."

Natsu pulled her roughly to him and nuzzled into her neck. Happy flew down to hug both of their heads.

"Thank you, Lucy," Natsu whispered with his lips brushing her neck. "And Happy. I love you both so much it hurts sometimes. If Happy hadn't jumped in front of you… Or if my flames had been too much for him… I couldn't have lived with myself."

"We're right here, Natsu," Lucy said soothingly. "And we love you, too."

It was only after they broke apart that Lucy realized Natsu had just said he loved her. She expected to feel elation at the words, even though she assumed he didn't mean them in a romantic way since Happy had been included in the statement. Still, having the man she loved say those three little words should make her excited, right? It did make her happy, but not the way she expected.

Natsu looked down at her thoughtfully.

"You smell different," he said. "Kind of like when you were under the influence of the shadows, but the difference is less over-powering."

"Probably just a lingering effect," Lucy said with a shrug.

"Yeah, probably," Natsu said, but his brow remained furrowed. "Hey, Luce, there's something I need to do. I'll be gone for a while. I don't know how long."

"You don't want me to come with?" She asked. She tried really hard not to pout. She had just cleared the air with her best friend and now he was running away without her.

"I think it's better if I go alone. Take care of Happy for me while I'm gone?"

"But Natsu, I want to go with you!" Happy declared.

"Sorry, buddy. You need to stay with Luce. You guys need to look after each other until I get back, okay?" Natsu hugged the Exceed, who had started crying again. He handed the cat off to Lucy before running towards the forest. He turned back at the edge to wave and give them his signature grin before sprinting into the trees.

"And he calls me a weirdo," Lucy said with a sigh.

"Well, you are pretty weird, Lucy."

"Watch it, cat. Or you might have to start worrying what's in the fish you steal from my fridge," she said as they headed to the guild.

"Lucy, you wouldn't!"

"Oh, I don't know, little blue. Maybe you should start being nicer to me just to be safe," Lucy said with a laugh.

* * *

Lucy stared at the request board with a glare. Since the guild's performance in the Grand Magic Games, they were receiving tons of new requests every day, but she couldn't seem to find one she liked. Anything she felt confident in handling solo was too low paying to be worth the effort, and with Natsu gone, she wasn't sure who else to take along on a more complicated job.

She was about to give up when she felt cool arms wrap around her waist.

"Let's take a job. Just the two of us," Gray murmured in her ear. She shivered at his cool breath and relaxed into the embrace.

"Anything in particular in mind?"

"Actually, I was thinking about that one," he said, pointing at a flyer with a high reward. "It's close to Hosenka so we can even visit the spa when we're done."

"Sounds good to me. Let me grab Happy and we'll head out."

"He could just stay with Wendy and Carla," Gray suggested. "I'm sure he'd like some time with them."

"We can ask, but I kind of doubt he'll agree to it," Lucy said. She headed over to the table where Happy and the other Exceeds were sitting. Gray hung back a bit while she talked to him.

"Hey, Happy, Gray and I are going to a take a job. We'll be gone for a couple of days," Lucy said. The cat's face instantly fell as his eyes widened with sadness. Lucy quickly continued, "Of course, you can come with us if you want. Or I thought you might like to stay with Wendy and Carla."

"You don't really want me to come do you, Lucy?" Happy said quietly.

"Ah, little blue, don't think that," Lucy said. She scooped him into a hug. "I always want you with me. I just thought you might like to stay with the girls since you haven't had much time with Carla lately since you've been looking after me."

"That's true, but Natsu told us to look out for each other 'til he gets back. I can't do that if I'm not with you," Happy said. Lucy smiled at him.

"That's what I figured, but I wanted to give you the option. Are you ready to go now?"

"Aye sir!"

Gray sighed. His two main rivals for Lucy's affections were both out of the way, but one of them had apparently left a little cockblocker behind anyway. He tried to shrug off the annoyance and showed Mira the flyer before moving to join the other two heading to the train station.

* * *

"Why is it always bandits?" Lucy asked with a groan. She and Gray were crouched behind a line of bushes watching their targets.

"Don't worry so much, we've got this. They've only got like two mages in there anyway," he said.

"True. I wish we knew what magic they use, but I guess we'll find out soon enough. You want the mages or the nons?"

"I'll take the mages," Gray said instantly. It wasn't that he didn't think Lucy could handle them. She was a strong woman. Dark Lucy would have taken them out with no trouble, but he was pretty sure whatever power boost she got from the shadows was now gone.

"Alright, then," Lucy said with a nod. "Happy, take me up. You can drop me as a surprise for them when Gray gets the wizards' attention."

Gray watched as Happy drew the blonde up into the clouds before stepping from his hiding place and striding nonchalantly into the middle of the bandits' camp. The two wizards attempted to brush him off to be handled by their lackeys, but when Gray exhibited his ice and Lucy dropped down from the sky with whip in hand, the leaders decided this might be their problem after all.

The wizards used lightning and water that worked in tandem, but Gray made short work of them. He turned from the frozen figures to go help Lucy, but he froze when he saw her. Her appearance hadn't outwardly changed, but she sported a dark grin as she fought hand to hand with the last few of the bandits. She hadn't bothered to call out a spirit at all as far as he could tell, yet unconscious individuals were strewn throughout the campsite. There were at least a dozen on the ground, and she knocked out another with a kick to the head as he watched. Within moments, the last two joined their comrades, and Lucy turned a brilliant smile to Gray. Her chest heaved slightly, but she didn't seem terribly worn out by the fight.

"Didn't stand a chance," Happy said with a snicker.

"You got that right, little blue. Piece of cake. Maybe we could've taken this job on our own after all," Lucy said. She stroked the cat's head before turning to Gray. He half-expected her eyes to be solid black again, but her usual warm brown eyes greeted him. She strolled over to him with Happy still perched on her head. "I'm glad you took care of the wizards, though. I probably could have handled it with a spirit, but I'm glad you're with me."

Gray felt like his heart was being squeezed in his chest as she looked up at him. She looked like Lucy, and she sounded like Lucy. But her fighting and the exchange with Happy… Those were Dark Lucy. Did Sting fuck it up when he was saving her? Was she still experiencing some residual effects?

Lucy cocked an eyebrow at him questioningly, and he realized he wasn't sure how long he'd been staring at her. Without thinking, he pulled her to him and locked their lips together. Lucy's hands moved to his hair to pull him closer.

"You loooove her," the blue cat snickered from a short distance away. The reminder of their audience made Gray pull back. Lucy nipped at his bottom lip, but she let him move away.

"We still need to tie these guys up for the Rune Knights and go collect our reward from the mayor," Lucy said. "Plus, I was promised a spa retreat."

"Of course," Gray said with a grin. The smile dropped from his face as Lucy turned and headed back towards the town with Happy flying at her shoulder. He followed slowly as he mulled over the job. Was he imagining a difference in her? Was she always like this? It wasn't that the changes were so terrible. He just wanted _his_ Lucy back.

A couple hours later, Lucy finally made it to the hot spring bath to soak. Happy drifted in the water beside her. Gray had opted to stay in their hotel room and figure out dinner. Lucy sighed as the warm water surrounded her. She stared up at the sky and thought over the fight earlier. She could have called out Taurus or Loke to help her handle the bandits, but when she dropped amidst them, something told her she could take them out on her own, and that it would be a lot of fun to do it. It wasn't the first time she'd had that sort of urge while on a mission, but it was the first time she had acted on it.

"Keep thinking that hard and your head's going to explode," Happy said sleepily.

"Look who's talking, pussy cat," she said. She had more to say, but she stopped suddenly. When she spoke, a voice in her head followed along. She heard two voices, past and present, saying the same words to the Exceed. Curious as to what would happen, she continued, "If you had a single real thought in your head, you'd probably die from overload."

She heard Happy's voice in her head saying that she was starting to get heavy. Then her own voice said he'd die if he dropped her. She looked at the blue Exceed and he was staring back at her with his head tilted to the side.

"Do you remember that, too?" He asked.

"Yeah, just the voices, though. I'm still not getting many images," Lucy said.

"Sometimes I see stuff, like you hitting Natsu with your whip, and Natsu aiming his fire roar at you. I kind of remember seeing weird Rogue. Then, I just remember burning pain." His sad voice made Lucy's heart twist in her chest. She scooped him out of the water into a hug.

"It's over now, little blue. We're back to normal."

 _You know, it's kind of refreshing that you aren't spouting some bullshit about getting me back to normal_. Lucy groaned as the same phrase echoed through her head. She heard that one more often than any other. She just wanted the context to go with it, and she wanted to know why it popped up so often.

"Come on," Lucy said, giving up on any further relaxation for the moment. "Let's see what Gray figured out for dinner."


	33. Chapter 32: Somebody that I used to Know

Natsu had been gone for two weeks with no word. Lucy was still more curious than worried at this point, though worry was beginning to creep into her mind little by little. She went on missions with the rest of her team, but it felt weird without Natsu to destroy things or prompt Gray and Erza to destroy things (more than they already did). They were actually getting all of their reward money, for which Lucy was eternally grateful, but she missed her partner's destructive tendencies and buoyant personality. She had also noticed Gray getting moodier on each job, and she couldn't account for the change.

They were on their fourth job sans Natsu on what promised to be a lengthy trip. Lucy hadn't really wanted to take it in case he showed up while they were out of town. She missed her best friend. But Erza had insisted that she needed Gray, Wendy, and Lucy with her. She had even enlisted the help of Rogue, which Lucy found odd. The job was just dealing with some wyverns on a mountain. Sure the things were scary, but after facing actual dragons, they didn't sound so bad. Yukino was strongly encouraged to go along, but she opted to remain at the guild; she still wasn't particularly keen on jobs that required fighting, yet.

The hike up the mountain was brutal. Lucy cursed herself for not thinking to wear something less revealing as she shivered in the icy wind. At least Wendy was smart enough to bring a coat. She was about to summon Horologium when a thick white coat draped over her shoulders. Lucy glanced over to see a nearly naked Gray. She mentally facepalmed for not thinking of stealing his coat sooner. She smiled at him gratefully as she pushed her arms into the too big sleeves.

Rogue was in the lead so he could hopefully sniff out the wyverns before the group stumbled on them headfirst. He stopped suddenly and sniffed the air.

"They're definitely upwind and ahead of us, but it's difficult to tell how far," Rogue said. "Do we know how many there are?"

"The request stated a minimum of three, but no more than six," Erza replied. Lucy wasn't sure how the woman wasn't freezing in her standard armor. "At least we know we're getting close. Everyone be on your guard."

Lucy hung to the rear of the group with Gray just ahead of her. She figured that was the safest place since Rogue had said the wyverns were ahead of them. As it happened, she was wrong. A shadow fell over her as a wyvern roared above her. Somehow she'd forgotten the stupid things could fly.

She heard a shout from one of the others, but Lucy ignored it. Everything seemed to fall away as she faced the large white creature. She reached for her keys with one hand and her whip with the other. She lashed out at the beast to keep it from getting closer as she summoned Loke. He appeared in a flash of light with orange hair streaming down the back of his usual crisp black suit. Loke lunged with his fist surrounded by light. He drove the beast toward the ground and away from the group as Lucy dodged around the two, scoring hits with the barbed tip of her whip. Loke crippled one of its wings, and Lucy used the extending properties of her whip to latch onto the wyvern's hind leg and fling it over the ledge. The wyvern shrieked and a crash resounded through the mountains before everything fell silent.

Lucy listened for the rumble of cascading snow for a moment, but hearing no sounds of impending avalanche, she turned back to her team. Naturally, they were all staring at her as if she had sprouted a second head. Well, Happy and Rogue weren't. Nothing Lucy did seemed to surprise Happy anymore. Rogue hadn't worked with Lucy enough to know that pre-Rebirth Lucy would have screamed and waited for someone—most likely Natsu—to come save her.

"I should head back, my dearest," Loke said. He swept her into an embrace. "Please, try not to miss me too much. I can't bear the thought of you in pain at my absence."

"Close gate of the lion," Lucy said as she rolled her eyes. She let out a small 'eep' as she fell to the snow when he dematerialized.

"Lucy, are you feeling alright?" Erza asked stonily.

"Yeah, considering I just took on a wyvern. Thanks for nothing, by the way. You guys could have jumped in at any time!" Lucy exclaimed.

"It seemed that you had the situation handled," Rogue said calmly. "We should find the other wyverns quickly. It seems this job may be far easier than you expected, Erza."

"Wait, we have to make sure Lucy is alright," Gray said. His body was tense, and his expression seemed almost pained.

"I'm perfectly fine. Not a scratch on me. Even my clothes survived!" Lucy said with a smile.

"But, that's kind of the problem, Lucy," Wendy said nervously. "This isn't how things would usually go. You seem like…"

"Like what?" Lucy asked curiously.

She felt a faint dread gnawing at the back of her mind. Okay, maybe that fight was a little out of character, but she'd just been acting on instinct. Granted, Loke's hair had also been weird, but he'd been like that at the castle a month ago and every time she'd called him out since then. Maybe he and Cancer had a fight so the Crab was no longer giving him a trim; if that was even a thing with the spirits. An image of Loke with a long mane of orange hair cascading over golden armor while black light danced around his hands flitted through her mind.

"Oh, I see," Lucy said. She stared down at her boots in the snow. "You're worried that the shadows aren't completely gone. I'm too strong now. Too confident. I should have cried for help or at least been unable to defeat the wyvern alone."

"Lucy, we don't mean to offend you. We know how capable you are," Erza said.

"No, you guys are right," Lucy said. She tried to blink away the tears that were trying to gather in her eyes. "I have been acting differently lately. But the truth is… I don't feel different. Not really. Maybe a little more self-assured, but other than that… I feel like I always have."

"We just don't want to lose you again," Gray said. He walked to her and placed a hand on her arm lightly. She looked up and tried to give him her trademark million watt smile, but she was pretty sure the effort flopped at least a little.

"I'm not going anywhere, Gray. I'm still me. I promise."

Gray looked into her dark brown eyes for several moments before offering his lopsided grin and saying, "Of course you are. Now let's go take out the rest of those things."

* * *

A short while later, the group traipsed back down the mountain to collect their reward. At least, that was the destination. They were waylaid at the foot of the mountain by a familiar trio of robed figures, plus a couple of extras.

"Jellal," Erza greeted her old enemy/friend.

"Erza, thank you for coming."

"It was difficult to find a job close enough to be worth the effort of bringing all of us."

"I'm glad you managed. I'm afraid we have been unable to destroy the Rebirth device. We are hoping that you will be able to help us in finding a solution."

"How would we be able to help?" Lucy asked. None of them were particularly well-versed in devices from the Book of Zeref. Jellal and Ultear were far more qualified in that area.

"I believe the secret may lie in the celestial spirits who helped power the device," one of the extra figures said. He threw back his hood to reveal his spiky black and white hair and red eyes. Lucy tilted her head to the side as she tried to remember where she had seen him before.

"So that's where you went," Rogue said. "What happened to turning yourself over?"

"Jellal convinced me that my penance would be better served in fighting Zeref as a member of his guild, Crime Sorciere," Ryos explained. He turned to Lucy. "I'm glad that Sting was able to rid you of my shadows."

 _Lucy. Yukino. You are my friends. Together we are working to remake the world._ The voice slithered through her head as Lucy blinked at him.

"Rogue?" She asked. Gray tensed at her side, and the air grew distinctly colder.

"I go by Ryos now," he said. "I am truly sorry for what I put you through, Lucy. But it seems I must ask for your assistance in fixing my mistakes."

"And why should she help you? You took away everything she was and turned her into a pawn," Gray said coldly. "You set her against her own family."

"Gray, stop," Lucy said. She laid a hand on his arm and tried not to flinch at the extreme chill of his skin. "Everyone deserves a second chance. And if there's a way to make sure that this device is never used again, we have to help."

When she was satisfied that Gray wasn't going to attack the other man, she turned back to Crime Sorciere.

"What do you need from me?"

"When you were affected by the shadows, your spirits changed, as well. We think that may be the key to rendering the device useless," Ultear said.

"I already have Grandpa Crux looking into why they were affected," Lucy said. At their questioning looks, she explained, "Crux is a celestial spirit, the Southern Cross. He has access to all knowledge in the celestial spirit library as well as much of the knowledge in the human world. If there's something to find, he'll find it. I have to admit, it's taking him a lot longer than I'm used to for him to search."

"We will wait to see what your spirit finds," Jellal said. "In the meantime, allow us to escort you back to Magnolia. We'll camp in the forest there so we'll be near at hand when the information becomes available."

Lucy vaguely wondered why they hadn't just come to Magnolia in the first place if that was an option. She had a feeling this cloak and dagger nonsense with the independent guild was going to get old very quickly if she worked with them much.

"Alright, we need to pass through the town in order to collect our reward and our belongings," Erza said. As they began walking, she added,"By the way, who is your other companion?"

The fifth member of Crime Sorciere lifted his hood, and Erza scowled. Her giant hammer appeared in her hand, and the maroon-haired man eyed it warily.

"How did you get out of prison?" Erza demanded.

"They released me to help deal with the dragons," Cobra replied. "I planned to turn myself in afterwards, but your boyfriend here had a word with Doranbolt, so the council has conveniently forgotten that I was ever arrested."

Erza's scowl turned to Jellal next. Lucy stepped in once again. She wasn't sure how she ended up as the peacemaker between her friends and people who had tried to use her for their own gains and/or kill her, but she'd still do it. It just felt right.

"Second chances, remember?" Lucy said. Erza sighed and let the matter rest.

* * *

The group opted to walk back to Magnolia rather than risking someone recognizing any of the members of Crime Sorciere on the train. Gray and Erza both kept trying to put themselves protectively around Lucy until she got fed up with their smothering and had Happy take her into the air on the pretext of wanting to look around.

"You'd think I wasn't perfectly capable of taking care of myself," Lucy huffed.

"Well, to be fair, until recently you didn't act like you were most of the time," Happy said.

As much as she hated to admit it, the cat had a point. Lucy had never been completely confident in her abilities. She refused to use her spirits as shields, so she had learned hand-to-hand combat and how to use her whip effectively. Still, with such strong teammates as Erza, Natsu, and Gray, she often felt completely out-classed. She let them handle the hard stuff partly for that reason but partly because they seemed to expect it or just beat her to it in their desire to destroy things. She worried that they might think of her as a fragile princess, but she worried even more what they would think if the light of the guild suddenly exhibited that she had a dark streak.

At least, she had worried about it before. Lucy couldn't say exactly why she stopped hiding it. She liked fighting. Not to the same extent as her teammates, but she did get a thrill from it. She found it hard to believe that anyone could join Fairy Tail without having a least a small taste for brawling, except maybe Levy, but then, she and Lucy had talked about it before, and the small bookworm actually did find the idea exciting even if it was a bit out of her physical purview; it's the real reason she had Pantherlily train her in hand-to-hand combat.

"What'd I tell you about thinking so hard, Lucy?" Happy asked.

"Seems hard not to lately, little blue," she said with a sigh. They flew in silence above the others for a while before Lucy decided she could deal with her mother hens again. They would need to stop for the night soon anyway.

She and the Exceed dropped down in a clearing by the river, a little ahead of the group, and Lucy called out Virgo to set up tents for them. Lucy thought that something seemed different about the spirit, but it wasn't until the others arrived and Gray tried to attack her that Lucy realized what it was: instead of her usual maid outfit, Virgo sported a leather skirt and crop top with a whip coiled at her side, though the shackles still dangled from her wrists, too.

Lucy's whip snaked out like the river of stars it was named for to capture Gray's wrists. She yanked hard while retracting the whip to pull him to the ground just in front of her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lucy asked angrily. But then she froze when she felt the point of Erza's sword at her throat. She vaguely heard Wendy yelling for them to calm down, but then Loke was at her side, pulling Erza's sword away and stealing the requip mage's attention. Lucy had relaxed her grip on Gray's wrists in her shock at Erza threatening her, and he leaped forward to tackle her. Gray missed as Happy dipped in to pull Lucy into the air.

"Virgo and Loke, go back!" Lucy yelled. The two vanished without protest when they saw her safely in the air. Lucy crossed her arms and glared down at her teammates. "Now do you two want to tell me what the hell is going on?"

Erza looked sheepish, but Gray immediately rounded on Ryos and launched a punch at him. Rogue stopped Gray's fist with his palm and clamped down so Gray couldn't retract his arm.

"This isn't his fault," Rogue said.

"Are you kidding me?" Gray shouted. "You didn't know Lucy before, but we did. You didn't know her spirits before. But we did! Whatever Sting did, it didn't work. This bastard is still controlling her somehow."

"I was never controlling either Lucy or Yukino," Ryos said with a frown. "I used my shadow magic to hide Lucy's memories and manipulate Yukino's, as well as to bring out their darker sides. And yes, I lied to them. I used them. But I was never in control of them."

"Lucy has absolutely zero trace of shadow magic in her," Rogue said. "The only thing I sense is a slight power reminiscent of Sting. And that would not account for the change in behavior that you claim from either Lucy or her spirits."

"Then how do you explain what's happened?" Gray asked angrily as Rogue finally released his fist. "Lucy has always been as bright as the sun. Where is this darkness coming from if it's not from him?" He pointed an accusatory finger at Ryos.

 _I love your darkness and your light._

"Even the sun has spots of darkness," Lucy whispered. "Happy put me down by Cobra." The cat dropped her where she asked. Everyone looked mildly surprised except for Cobra himself. Lucy regarded him for a moment.

"Can you do it?" Lucy asked.

"Possibly," Cobra said, keeping his expression perfectly blank.

"Will you?"

Cobra closed his eye and tilted his head slightly. The rest of the group glanced between one another questioningly, but they stayed quiet and merely watched. After several moments, Cobra leaned down to Lucy's ear and began to whisper. When he was finished, Cobra stepped back. Lucy took a deep breath and smiled her thanks.

"So, who's hungry?" Lucy asked. She clapped her hands and headed towards the fire pit Virgo had dug for them.

"Um, Lucy, you want to share with the group?" Gray asked.

"Well, I figured we'd all be eating together," Lucy said with a confused frown.

"That's not what I meant—," Gray started to explain, but he stopped when he saw the cheeky grin flash across the blonde's face. He sighed and went to join her in starting a fire. He wanted to apologize for overreacting to Virgo's appearance, and he wanted to know what the hell that was with Cobra. But he knew that Lucy would explain when she was ready and not until. He just hoped it wouldn't take too long.

* * *

 **A/N: I promise there is Sting in the next chapter! Thanks again to lena babyyyyy and Noir Ship for reviewing! Also to the new faves and followers, thanks a bunch!**


	34. Chapter 33: King of Wishful Thinking

**A/N: There's a few f-bombs in this one. If my sentence enhancers cause offense, I do apologize. Thanks for RRFF!**

* * *

Gray and Lucy stretched out under the stars while the others slept in the tents Virgo had set up for them. Lucy gazed up the sky with a content smile on her face, while Gray kept finding his gaze drawn to her face. He reached out and entwined her fingers with his. She glanced over with the small smile still in place, but now that she was facing him, he thought he caught a hint of sadness in the look. He brushed a kiss across her knuckles.

"Lucy, what did Cobra tell you?" Gray whispered. Lucy withdrew her hand and turned back to the sky. She waited so long to answer that he thought she was merely going to ignore the question, but she did finally respond: with a question of her own.

"What do you love about me?"

The question caught him off-guard. He'd never really thought about it. He just felt it. Every time he looked at Lucy a warm feeling entered his gut, and he just thought 'love.' He never questioned what it was about her that made him feel that way, but he somehow knew that answer wasn't going to suffice tonight.

"I love your smile, how it's always in place no matter what happens or how bad things are. I love your bubbly laugh and how much you care about everyone around you. I don't get how you can be so forgiving, like with Ryos and Cobra, but I love that you are."

"Is that all?" Lucy asked softly. Gray knew something about his answer bothered her, but he couldn't think what it could possibly be.

"I mean, there are a hundred little things, too. But I guess those are the big reasons," Gray said. He wanted to pull her into his arms and never let her go, but something held him back. Lucy turned onto her side to lock eyes with him. She was smiling softly.

"You don't love me, Gray," Lucy said.

"Of course I do," Gray replied with a frown. "I know how I feel, Lucy, and I love everything about you."

"Oh, Gray," Lucy whispered. Her smile turned sad and she laid a hand on his cheek. "You don't know everything about me, so how could you possibly love all of me?"

"Lucy, what are you saying?" His heart clenched painfully. He did know her. They'd been friends almost from the moment she joined the guild. He'd fallen in love with her every day as he got to know more and more of her personality. At this point, he was pretty sure he'd seen every side of Lucy. How could she not realize that?

"I'm saying that you love the idea of me," Lucy said. "Not the real me."

"I still don't understand what you mean," Gray replied shortly. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair in agitation. Lucy rose up, too and put a finger under his chin to make him look at her. She cocked her head to the side as if considering her words carefully.

"When we took on those bandits outside Hosenka, what were you thinking after I took them out without calling my spirits?" Lucy asked.

"What does that have to do with anything?" He pulled her hand away from his chin and held onto it as he rubbed small circles over her guildmark.

"Just answer the question, Gray."

"I was thinking it was weird!" Gray exclaimed.

"And the mission in Shirotsume with just us and Erza?"

"I didn't get why you didn't call out Taurus or somebody to help you fight while Erza and I were busy."

"And when I took out that wyvern on my own earlier today?"

"I thought the shadows might have still been in you," Gray admitted.

Lucy lightly touched his cheek with the tips of her fingers. He grabbed her hand and pressed it fully against his cheek, as she had done in the hall under the stadium after he lost on the first day of the games. It felt like years since that day when he had admitted he still harbored feelings for her. He'd thought that now he was getting closer to winning her heart.

"Exactly," Lucy whispered. "Gray, that is me. It's part of who I am, and it always has been. You love a small part of who I am, and I don't think you can accept the rest of me."

"But I can," he said. His voice cracked slightly. The pain in his chest was reaching new heights. He needed to find a way to convince her that he could love her, all of her, and he needed to do it fast or he was going to lose her. He brought up his free hand to tangle in her hair.

"I'm sorry, Gray," Lucy whispered. She leaned forward to kiss his cheek, but he pulled her face so that their lips touched. He tried to bring back that feeling from the stadium, the burning need she sparked within him. But he only met a cold wall. Gray pulled back and released her completely as he slumped over his knees. He knew a goodbye kiss when he felt one, even if this was his first.

"Cobra told you something about Sting, didn't he?" Gray asked.

"Yes," Lucy admitted. "But this isn't really about Sting. It's about you and I. We just aren't meant to be, Gray. But I hope... I hope that we can be friends again. When you're ready. I don't want to lose you completely."

"Don't worry, Lucy," Gray said with a sad chuckle. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me. I told you before, you're my friend above anything else. It'll be awkward for a bit, but I still want you in my life. No, I still need you in my life."

"I'm glad to hear it," Lucy said. She gave him a brilliant smile that put another chip in his heart. Gray stood.

"I think I'm going to head back to Magnolia now. There's a town not far from here that should have a train station. I'll see you guys when you make it back," Gray said.

"Okay, but be careful, Gray," Lucy said. She stood and hugged him. Gray fought the urge to hold her tightly; it felt like an eternity before she unwound her arms from his waist and allowed him to stride off into the forest. Gray wasn't really sure where the town he'd mentioned was or even if it really existed. He just needed to get away from Lucy and everyone else for a while. He was in no hurry to return to the guild where everyone would know before long that Lucy had rejected him. And he knew why, too: Sting. She said it wasn't because of the former Sabertooth slayer, but Gray knew he was at least the partial cause. Anger was preferable right now to the other pain he was feeling, so Gray let it wash through him as he wandered through the dark forest.

* * *

Sting awoke to the feeling of a generous chest pressed against him. He opened his eyes slowly to see a pair of brown eyes staring down at him. His arms came up instantly to wrap around her torso. He didn't care how she'd found him; he could ask that later. For now, he just enjoyed the feel of her entire body sinking into his as he breathed in her scent. Sunshine wasn't interested in letting that suffice. She pressed herself further against him as her lips captured his. He let her control the pace and parted his lips obediently when she nipped at his bottom lip.

Sunshine moaned into his mouth before breaking the kiss to sit back so she was straddling him fully. Her eyes swept hungrily over him. She ran her hands lightly over his chest before bending now again to nip and suck at his neck. Sting growled softly as she moved up to his sensitive ear.

"We really should have got this out of our systems before," she whispered. He shivered at the breath on his ear. He moved his hands to trail up her sides, only to feel nothing but air beneath his touch.

Sting came awake suddenly with his hands gripping the bedding and a raging boner trying to tear through his boxers. He groaned loudly and got up to dunk himself in the river for what felt like the thousandth time since he began this trip.

Later that day, Sting sat cross-legged in the small clearing trying to meditate. He wasn't very good at it. He peeked out of one eye to see Lector sitting in front of him trying to copy his position with his eyes tightly closed. Sting didn't bother trying to hide his grin at the sight. He closed his eye again and tried to focus on his breathing. He tried to keep it slow and steady, tuning out the sounds of the forest around them. Just when he thought he had it, he heard a bubbling giggle.

His eyes snapped open and scanned the area. Sunlight washed over the grass and wildflowers around him, and shadows coated the bottoms of the trees beyond the clearing, but he didn't sense any movement with his eyes or ears. He sniffed the air, but all he could smell was Lector and the plants around them.

His eyes closed again. He kept hearing her: a random giggle, a snippet of speech, the rapid beating of her heart. Sting grit his teeth. The hands that had been settled loosely on his knees curled into fists. Sometimes he could practically smell her, too. But he only actually saw her in his dreams. Nearly every night since leaving Crocus he relived the fight within the dragon skeleton or their other encounters in Crocus during the games or some other vision of her that left him weak and wanting when he awoke. She haunted him.

Giving up, Sting rose to his feet. Lector had fallen asleep where he sat. Sting smiled fondly down at the Exceed before picking him up to go back to their camp. The slayer hadn't wanted to be around people for a while. He could have gone back to the apartment he'd shared with Rogue to stay, but he was afraid of running into his brother. He didn't want to explain why he left. He went back briefly to grab some supplies, but that was it.

Sting placed Lector in the tent before jogging to the river nearby. He intended to take yet another nice cold dip to help rid him of thoughts of the Fairy Tail blonde, but he glanced up and saw the cliff. The corner of his lip quirked upwards, and he decided to scale the side of the cliff instead. It was simple enough for him, but his arms were beginning to protest by the time he pulled himself over the edge. He turned to stare down at the river. It was just like he remembered it from when he was a kid. Even the weather was the same. He could barely pick out a spot that he thought was the tent where he'd left Lector.

Looking at the river below now, Sting was really glad he'd had the stupid cat to lift him up from crashing into the ground or water back then. There was a very good chance he wouldn't have survived the fall. He wasn't entirely sure that he would survive now. He sat down on the edge with his legs dangling over the side.

"What the fuck am I even doing?" Sting muttered to himself. He knew as soon as the She-Devil spoke that Yukino would become a full member of Fairy Tail, and he knew that Rogue would join her. Sting wasn't exactly opposed to joining the fairies he had ridiculed just a few weeks before. At least, he wouldn't be if it weren't for her.

Sting leaned back on his elbows to stare at the sunset. Sunshine. He hated that he missed her. He told himself that he didn't know her well enough to feel this way. His speech before releasing her from the shadows was mostly bullshit. At least, that's what he told himself. Sting knew that she wasn't the same around him whenever they met up as she was with her guild. And he really did like that dark version of her. As well as her lighter self. Sting groaned as the image of her in the solid black, barely there outfit popped into his mind.

But no matter how attracted to her he was, Sting knew she deserved better.

"Holy white dragon, my ass," Sting scoffed. There was nothing holy about him. He was cocky, egotistical, selfish; in short, he was an asshole, just like she'd said. He was a nightlight, and she was the motherfucking sun. She'd be far happier with Natsu or that ice guy, even if the thought of her with either of them made him want to tear something to shreds with his bare hands.

 _I will not go back looking for her,_ Sting thought. He'd been repeating the mantra for the past few weeks while he tried to train in the forest. It was losing potency, but Sting had to believe he could pull through this. Each morning he told himself that if he could make it through today, he would start to forget about her. Little by little the distance would sever the connection.

The sun disappeared completely before Sting made his way back down the side of the cliff. Lector was fishing from the riverbank when he reappeared. Sting sat down beside him and took the pole. For a cat, Lector was terrible at fishing. Sting would have far better luck in way less time.

"Hey Sting?" Lector said after a little while. "Why are we out here anyway?"

"To train," Sting said. He was mildly surprised that Lector hadn't questioned him before, but then, Lector tended to trust Sting implicitly.

"Yeah, but shouldn't Rogue and Frosch be with us? I mean, they usually train with us."

"Rogue's got other stuff to do right now," Sting said. "He's with Yukino."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense."

They sat in silence as Sting pulled fish after fish for their dinner. As he was preparing to cut the scales off of them, Lector spoke again.

"Hey Sting? Are you going to tell me why we don't have a guild anymore?"

Sting sighed. He'd barely explained the dragon thing to the Exceed, and he'd forgotten almost everything about the games and Minerva. The problem was, while the dragon incident was fairly straightforward with just a few missing pieces, the demise of Sabertooth was a bit more complicated. Sting wasn't entirely sure he understood it all himself still. Sting started on the fish as he tried several times to start talking, but he couldn't think of a way to explain without talking about Sunshine, which was something he really didn't want to do. Finally he sighed and set his knife down. He supposed he would have to talk about her at some point.

"The night before the games, I was chased by some fans and I ran into this beautiful blond woman. Literally. Knocked her right over into an alley…"

A few hours later, the story had been told, dinner had been eaten, and the fire had been put out. Sting lay on the ground staring at the stars. The tent had felt too stifling. Lector still seemed a little confused, but he also seemed to accept now that things were the way they were. Sting, on the other hand, felt far less confused. The woman exerted the gravitational pull of the sun, and he fell into her all too easily. Sabertooth had been waiting to self-destruct, and Sting wouldn't have been able to continue the façade forever. If it hadn't been Sunshine, it would have been something else.

Something rustled in the trees to his right. Sting turned his head, and he idly hoped that it would be a Vulcan so he could beat something up. Fighting was a lot easier than feeling things. His eyes widened slightly as a person tripped out of the underbrush, and he leapt to his feet as his heart beat wildly in his chest.

"I found you, you fucking asshole!"


	35. Chapter 34: Take Me for What I Am

**A/N: I'm sorry that Sting's favorite word is also my favorite word. Thanks to Noir Ship, Univerzes, lena babyyyyy and Sunny Ver 2.0 for reviewing :) Now on to the stunning conclusion! (kidding, there's still one more chapter after this, maybe two).**

* * *

Crime Sorciere remained in the forest outside of Magnolia while the remaining three from Team Natsu plus Rogue returned to the guild. Lucy glanced around for Gray, but she didn't see the ice mage anywhere. She hoped he was alright. After their conversation under the stars, she knew he was hurting, but she figured once he had some time to think, he'd see that she had been right. She made her way to the bar to catch up with her girls. She'd barely settled in her usual place when the guild doors burst open again, crashing against the walls with a loud thud.

"I swear to fuck, Natsu, if you don't put me the fuck down, I will fucking end you!"

"Will you quit squirming? Geez, act like an adult for once," Natsu said. He tossed an angry Sting down the steps by the entrance as a red Exceed flew in behind him, looking confused and more than a little nervous. Natsu grinned at the stunned guild. "Hey guys, I'm back!"

"Oh, it is on, Matchstick!" Sting said. He leaped to his feet and headed for Natsu.

"I did what I needed to do. I'm done fighting you for now, Sting," Natsu said, shaking his head. He made his way towards the table where Happy was sitting with Carla and Wendy.

"Don't walk away from me," Sting said darkly.

"Hey!" Lucy yelled as she stood from her seat by the bar. She strolled over to Sting who watched her warily. She stopped just a few feet from him and said, "I'll fight you."

"And you are?" Sting said petulantly. Maybe if he snubbed her hard enough she'd back off and he could leave again to try (probably unsuccessfully) to forget about her.

"Oh, forgotten me already, Kitty Cat? I'm wounded," Lucy said with a grin. "And after we had so much fun together."

Sting blinked at her for several moments. This conversation was sounding oddly familiar all of the sudden… He smirked suddenly as he understood.

"Sure you can handle me, beautiful?" He asked.

"Oh I know I can, but I have a condition: no magic."

"Fine by me."

Lucy brushed past him and stopped at the guild doors. She turned back and crooked a finger at him. Sting offered his trademark smirk and followed. The guild doors closed behind them before Natsu stood to follow.

"You guys are going to want to see this," Natsu said.

Still having no clue what was happening, the rest of the guild took his advice and hurried to catch up to the duo who were just disappearing around the side of the guild in the direction of the training ground. The Fairy Tail members had barely made it to the sidelines of the grounds when Lucy and Sting started bashing at each other. They kicked up the dust of the training area as they punched, kicked, and spun around each other. Cana started accepting bets on the outcome of the fight, though most everyone was betting on Sting.

Lucy kicked out at his ribs while Sting jumped to the side to come back at her with a fist aiming for her head. She ducked and thrust out a hand to catch his forearm as it flew past her previous location. At the same time, she caught his other hand so his arms were crossed over his body. She leaned in towards him with a grin.

"You're pretty good at this, Kitty Cat," she said.

"Wondering what other physical activities I'd be good at?" He replied before pushing forward, forcing her to either break her hold or fall over backwards. She released her grip but brought her hands behind her to touch the ground as she backflipped, using Sting's forward momentum and a well-placed knee to toss him over her. He landed on his back, and Lucy sprinted over to straddle him before he could get up. She pinned his wrists with one hand and put her other over his mouth. He could have broken the hold easily enough, but Sting was interested to see where she was going with this little reenactment. That and it was nice to have her actually on top of him for once instead of just dreaming about it.

"Did you leave because you thought I wouldn't remember?" She asked softly. "Were you running away to save me? Or to save yourself? Do you even know what you've done to me?"

Sting felt his heart pounding wildly as she leaned closer to him so her mouth was just over his with only her hand in the way of the kiss he'd been dreaming about since he left Crocus.

"I've never shown anyone those specks of black before. That little dark streak hiding behind the perfect princess façade. I didn't think anyone could accept it; honestly, I didn't think I could accept it. I was pretty close to right. My team still suspects I'm under the influence of the shadows. But I know better. Once Cobra helped me remember your little speech, I knew there was one person who could accept me. All of me. Ironic, isn't it? Your holy light purified me so thoroughly that it stripped away my mask, so everyone could see my sunspots."

Sting was distantly aware of their audience, but he was too focused on Sunshine to really care. He saw the tears forming in her eyes, and he wanted to kick himself for doing this to her. He'd wanted to give her the option of whether or not to accept the little bit of dark in her, but it seemed that he'd forced her decision anyway.

"You know what sucks the most, though?" Lucy continued. "It's not that you stripped the mask. I'm kind of glad really. Finally being fully myself is a relief. No, what sucks is that you told me you'd help kiss away the pain, but you left before you could. Now, are you going to make good on that offer?"

She removed her hand for his reply, but Sting was tired of speeches. He had to admit the fairies had a way with words, but he was so done with talking. He sat up, which pushed her back a little as she slid down his body. He grabbed her hair with one hand and put the other on her back so she wouldn't move before finally claiming that kiss.

It was only when they broke apart, both breathing heavily, that they heard the entire guild cheering a few meters away. Sting smirked at her, and he was pleasantly surprised when Lucy responded with a smirk of her own.

"You know, it was pretty cowardly to run away without letting me collect on our bet. So we'll definitely be discussing my payment later. Come on, Kitty Cat, time to make you a Fairy," she said as she stood and offered him a hand. He groaned and contemplated just pulling her back on top of him, but he figured he might as well get it over with.

While Sting was getting stamped, Lucy went to talk to Natsu.

"Thanks," Lucy said softly as she hugged him.

"Anything for you, Luce," Natsu said with a grin. "You're my best friend. I may not have liked the guy before, but he kind of grows on you. Like a tumor."

"I heard that," Sting called out. Lucy giggled.

"Seriously though, Luce," Natsu continued. "When I smelled you, I knew that you needed him around. It's faint, but there's a little bit of his magic still moving around in your system. I don't think he meant to, but it looks like Sting marked you as his. I don't know that there's any lasting effects for you, but just the fact that he was able to do it means that he's special to you. A mark of magic can't be given without permission, or at least acceptance."

"So what exactly does that mean?" Lucy asked.

"It means that I could leave, and you'd be fine. I'd always feel like something was missing, though," Sting said as he joined them.

"But Natsu just said that he knew I needed you," Lucy said. Her brow creased in a frown. Sting rubbed his thumb across her forehead to smooth it.

"He just meant that you accepting the mark meant you'd be sad if I wasn't around. You'd get over it, like any break up, and the magic would disappear over time. But by taking the magic, you accepted me."

A fist flew into Sting's face, and he sailed across the room, putting a dent in the far wall. Lucy gaped at Rogue standing beside her with his hand still curled into a fist. He glared at Sting as the blond slayer picked himself up off the floor and rubbed his head.

"The fuck, bro?"

"That's for causing Frosch to worry about you like that," Rogue said.

"Fro wasn't worried!" The Exceed piped up. "Fro did miss Lector, though."

"Exactly. That's for making Frosch miss Lector," Rogue amended. Sting just stared at his brother for a moment before laughing and strolling over to throw an arm around Rogue's shoulders.

"You know, all you had to say was that you missed me, man. You didn't have to bang up our new guildhall."

Lucy giggled as she watched the twin slayers begin to argue. A small arm slipped around her waist, and she glanced over to find Yukino beside her. Lucy reciprocated the gesture, and they giggled together at the exchange. Of course, Natsu couldn't stay out of a good argument and before long the entire guild was embroiled in a brawl. Yukino retreated to the bar with Lisanna. Lucy was teetering between joining the girls or joining the brawl when the sound of a bell rang out, and Crux appeared in front of her in a flash of light.


	36. Chapter 35: Nightlight

"No," Sting said darkly. He glared at the others gathered in the forest just outside of Magnolia. Sunlight glimmered through the leaves surrounding them, yet the forest felt decidedly shadowed, and for once it had nothing to do with either of the shadow dragon slayers.

"No," Rogue agreed with an equally dark expression. He pulled Yukino closer to him protectively. Sting tried to mirror the motion with Lucy, but she brought a fist down on top of his head and crossed her arms over her chest as she stepped away from him.

"We're doing it, so shut up," Lucy said with a scowl. She jabbed a finger in Rogue's direction. "Rogue, quit treating Yukino like your teddy bear. We don't have another option, so you two are going to have to deal with it."

"But Sunshine—."

"But Lucy—."

"Ah!" Lucy yelled to cut off the protests of the twin slayers. "Enough. Crux was just offering a warning of something that has very little chance of actually occurring. He thought I should have all the information available. That's why you two are even here: as a contingency plan. And unless your services are required, the two of you will shut up, sit down, and let us end this whole thing."

Rogue continued gripping Yukino and looked like he was going to argue further, but he found both Sting and Natsu dragging him away from her. He looked at his brother with betrayal shining in his eyes.

"You don't want to argue with Scary Lucy," Natsu said as he and Sting shoved the shadow slayer to sit on the ground.

"Can't you feel that aura, bro?" Sting asked. He shivered. "It's worse than Dark Lucy."

"Now then, where were we?" Lucy asked as she turned back to Crime Sorciere.

"They may have a point, Lucy," Ryos said. "If the two of you don't have enough power…"

"No," Lucy said firmly. "We are going to destroy this thing. My spirits know the risks, as do I. We're going to make certain that no one can ever use it again."

"I agree with Lucy," Yukino said quietly. "Now, let's stop talking about it and get to work."

Lucy and Yukino sank to their knees facing one another and clasped hands. Natsu grimaced at the memory it produced. He was inclined to agree with Sting and Rogue that there had to be a less risky way to destroy the device, but he knew Lucy's mind had been made up. He was just here to watch her back as he'd always done; though he had a feeling he wouldn't be much help if Crux's warning came to pass.

Ultear placed the gray orb on the ground between the girls. She and the rest of her guild stepped a fair distance away from them with Wendy and Erza. Lucy bent her head forward to rest against Yukino's. Both girls inhaled deeply before launching into the spell. A sphere of gold magic energy appeared around them and gradually widened out as they chanted in unison. Natsu and the twin slayers had to leap back further to avoid touching the sphere as it grew. Black sparks danced across the surface as thirteen figures appeared in a circle at the magic's edge.

Yukino began breathing heavily, leaving Lucy to continue the chant on her own. Lucy felt trembling starting in her extremities, and she felt Yukino begin to shudder in earnest against her. She clasped the other woman's hands more tightly. Lucy dug deep within herself to pull on all of her energy to keep the gates open and channel her power into the spirits. She needed to complete the spell before she ran out of magic.

Just when she thought she couldn't hold the circle any longer to continue the spell, a burst of magic rushed back into her container. The gray orb and the golden sphere around them both cracked down the middle before shattering completely. A wave of energy burst out, knocking most of the audience to the ground. Lucy grinned in triumph, but then, the backlash of magic energy recoiled to hit her. The world shifted as she fell to her side. She was dimly aware of Sting's worried blue eyes gazing at her before she stopped being aware of anything at all.

"Sunshine! Sunshine, open your damn eyes!" Sting yelled. He pulled Lucy's limp body into him. He kept repeating his nickname for her as he clutched her to his chest.

"Sting, let me look at her," Wendy cried. She fell to her knees beside them, and he reluctantly released his grip enough for the sky maiden to begin probing Lucy with her magic. Wendy frowned. "She's just unconscious, but I don't know why. She used a ton of magic, but from what I can sense, her container is completely full. I need to look at Yukino."

Yukino was leaning heavily on Rogue, but she was conscious. Her small frame shook and sweat beaded on her forehead, but aside from slight magic deprivation, Wendy found her unharmed.

"It appears you have succeeded in destroying the device," Ultear said as she picked up the broken pieces of the orb.

"But at what cost?" Ryos asked. He moved towards Lucy's still body, but Sting snarled at him, and the other man quickly backed away again.

"Cobra?" Jellal said quietly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm trying. I don't hear anything, though."

They prepared to head for the guild to take Lucy to the infirmary, but as Sting lifted her up, her eyes snapped open. He nearly dropped her in his surprise. The rest of her team exclaimed happily and tried to rush to her side, but Sting backed away from them with a shake of his head. He clutched Lucy tightly, and she snarled as he carefully but firmly confined her arms and legs. He flinched as gold and black tendrils began creeping from her body to nip at his skin, but he refused to let go. He'd pulled her back once, and he could do it again. After all, that's why he was here.

Lucy glared up at the man holding her. She vaguely recognized his face, but she was too angry at being restrained to care who he was or how she knew him. Murderous rage burned within her. A desire to hurt, to destroy, and to kill welled up inside of her.

"I really wish you would listen to me at least occasionally," Sting said with a sigh. He stared into her solid black eyes as his power built up within him. She squirmed against him as she tried to break free, but he wasn't letting go. She opened her mouth, either to summon a spirit or to say something snarky, but he didn't give her the chance. Sting brought his lips over hers as he continued concentrating on harnessing his magic. He had to make this one strong, strong enough to reach through to the spirits, too, if he could. Sting had barely accepted that she really did want him in her life, and he'd be damned if he was going to let some twisted device ruin it now.

Crux had warned them that the device could seek out a new container for its power when the orb was destroyed. Sting had blasted away the tainted shadows within Lucy before, but through her bond with her spirits, the celestial entities still retained a hint of the darkness from the device. Having to use their power to break the orb had opened the door for the taint to spread further in them and thus creep back into Lucy, drawing the dark magic into her when the orb shattered. Sting pulled back from the kiss when he felt his power reach the level he needed.

"Sorry, Sunshine, but this is going to hurt like a bitch," Sting whispered just before he released the built up magic in a rush of white light. A scream tore through the trees. The sound sent several flocks of birds into flight as it echoed through the forest.

The group tried to blink the stars out of their eyes as the blinding light began to fade. Sting sank to the ground with the blonde still held tightly to him. She twitched and whimpered as he whispered softly in her ear and rocked back and forth. A faint white glow still surrounded them. Lucy finally opened her eyes, and Sting sighed in relief that they were back to their normal dark caramel color.

"Thanks, Sting," Lucy whispered. She closed her eyes again and cuddled into his chest.

"Anytime, Sunshine," he replied. "But, how about we wait a while before I have to rescue you from going all dark side again, huh?"

Lucy started to giggle, but it quickly turned into a yawn.

"Sounds good, nightlight," she whispered before falling asleep. Sting rose shakily to his feet with her still in his arms.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to lena babyyyyy (yeah Sticy!), NoirShip, , infinitelypanda, and Life Death rabidlovingfangirl for reviewing! I'm really glad that everyone is digging this story.**

 **I feel like I could end it here, or include one more chapter to really tie things off. What do you guys think?**


	37. Chapter 36: MM's

When Lucy said she was ready to claim her win from the Grand Magic Games bet, Sting expected to have a wonderful day (and night) in bed. He did not expect to be dragged on a mission to find a missing artifact that might or might not be related to a celestial gate key that might or not be a myth.

"You know I would have come with you anyway, right? You didn't have to invoke the 24-hour bet for this," Sting said as they walked through Onibus looking for the client's home. Lucy bit her lip and refused to look at him or respond, which made him very suspicious. Sting stopped walking and grabbed her arm. He put a finger under her chin to gently force her head up to meet his eyes. "Alright, what aren't you telling me?"

"Well, I did some research on this artifact the client is looking for and… well…" Lucy mumbled something incoherently. Sting leaned in to bump noses with her.

"Say again?"

Lucy took a deep breath.

"It'sprobablyrelatedtotheRebirthdeviceandmighthavesomedangerousdarkmagicifthewrongpersongetsaholdofit."

Sting closed his eyes as he worked out what she'd said. He kept his eyes closed as he tamped down on his protective instincts that were screaming at him to sling her over his shoulder and book it back to Magnolia where he could tie her down if necessary to keep her safe. He finally opened his eyes again when he was sure he wouldn't go off on her.

"You knew I'd say no," he said flatly. Lucy fidgeted, but her wide brown eyes never left his blue ones. Sting sighed.

"Fine. We'll find the thing that may be related to a device that could kill you or at least turn you into a evil representation of yourself. Sure. Why not?" He released her arm and started walking again.

"Don't be mad," Lucy pleaded as she struggled to catch up with his long strides. "I need your help, Nightlight."

"I'm not mad," Sting said more gently. "Let's just get this over with."

They finally found the client's home. It was in the ritzier part of town, and Lucy was pretty sure the client was a wealthy businessperson. A butler answered the door and led them into a cozy den. A few minutes later, a woman entered the room wearing an emerald green gown, similar to something Lucy would have worn when she was still an heiress.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," the woman said as she gestured for them to have a seat. Sting remained standing just to the side of the couch where Lucy sat. "My name is Amelia. From the flyer you know what I'm seeking. I believe it is in a cave system in the canyon not far from here. I have a map for you with a more precise location of the cave entrance."

"May I ask, why are you looking for this devi- I mean, this artifact?" Lucy asked.

Amelia looked down at her hands which she had clenched tightly together in her lap.

"I take it you've looked into the nature of the device?" She whispered before glancing back at Lucy who nodded. "I recently discovered that my uncle, my last living relative, passed away. He left everything to me. Among his belongings was a journal. I didn't think much of it until I began finding the journal lying in places other than where I had left it, and it was always open to the same page. After a few days of this, I decided to read it."

She took a breath and smiled sadly. "To shorten the tale, I am apparently the last descendant of a line of wizards who protect the location of this device, though I have no magic myself. The magic seems to have dwindled over the generations, and my uncle was the last to possess it."

"But if the device has been safe all this time, why look for it now?" Sting asked.

"In his journal, my uncle wrote that he had reason to believe someone was getting close to finding the location. He didn't say who; he only wrote that it would be very bad for them to get their hands on it. I don't know that asking you to retrieve it is the best option, but I'm afraid of doing nothing."

"But what will you do with it?" Lucy asked in confusion.

"I haven't figured that part out, yet," Amelia admitted. "Hide it away somewhere else, I suppose. If I am the only one who knows where it is hidden, the secret will die with me as I have no children to carry on the burden."

Sting and Lucy exchanged a glance. There were still a lot of unanswered questions. Lucy stood, but she immediately sat back down as she remembered the other part of the flyer.

"The job flyer mentioned a gate key?"

"Oh, yes," Amelia said. "It was something else my uncle mentioned in his journal. You see, he was a celestial wizard. Part of the payment for bringing me the artifact is his gate keys. There are seven silver keys and one black. Also, he left some information about how the device is related to another spirit, but even he wasn't sure if it was real or not."

Lucy stood again. Amelia gave her the map, and the wizards took their leave.

"I like this even less than I did earlier," Sting muttered. "There are too many unknowns. I'd rather have Rogue and Yukino with us."

"They were on a job already, and no one knew how long it would take them," Lucy said. She looped her arm with his. "I don't like it, either, but we can handle this. I thought you were the great Sting Eucliffe? Or have I been dating some other dragon slayer for the past two months?"

"Better not be," Sting pretended to growl. Lucy giggled and paused long enough to pull him in for a kiss. For two months she had been seeing the white dragon slayer every day unless they were on separate missions with their teams, and she still couldn't get enough of being by his side. The more she learned about him, the more she wanted to know. Despite the odd factors of the mission, she was glad to have a chance for some real alone time with her boyfriend. He shared an apartment with Rogue, and her team still didn't know what boundaries were, so they were nearly always surrounded by other people. Lucy broke the kiss and started tugging him down the street.

"Come on, Nightlight. I want to get to that cave today and see what we're dealing with."

* * *

 **A/N: Due to unanimous decision, here's another chapter, which is obviously not the whole story.** **I did not intend to start another mini-arc, but it kind of happened. The muse wants what it wants. It won't be super long though because I'm deep into working on my fic for CoLu week in June. I really just want to show Lucy and Sting's relationship together on a mission, so that's what we're going to do. :D**

 **Thanks so much for all who have reviewed, favorited, and followed!**


	38. Chapter 37: The Tip of the Iceberg

**A/N: Thanks to everybody who RRFF :) Hope you're liking this extended epilogue, too.**

* * *

As it turned out, the map made things look far simpler than they actually were. The bottom of the canyon was covered in a tightly packed forest that was difficult to move through. The couple often circled back on their own path so that it became difficult to even know which direction they were going. With the help of Pyxis, they managed to mostly stay on target, but the forest around them was already growing dark with the setting sun by the time they reached a clearing barely large enough for a small campsite in front of a cave entrance.

"Well, this job is already a pain in the side," Lucy said as she rubbed at her aching abs. She expected sore legs and maybe even arms from trekking through a forest, but she'd had to twist and dodge away from branches and vines so much that she'd gotten a core workout, as well.

"Rest or carry on?" Sting asked.

"Rest," Lucy declared. She plopped down on the ground with her legs spread before calling Virgo to set them up a temporary camp. Both Lucy and Sting would have preferred something a little further from the cave, but this was the only clearing they had found since entering the canyon.

"You get some sleep first," Sting offered. "I'll keep an eye out on the area."

Lucy didn't bother arguing. She crawled into the tent and immediately shrieked as she stumbled over something furry. Lucy backpedalled out of the tent and latched onto Sting's arm. A few seconds later, Sting started laughing as a very sleepy Lector walked out of the tent as he rubbed at his eyes. Lucy glared at him, but then she had to start giggling, too.

"Lector, how'd you get in there?" Lucy asked.

"I snuck in your bag when you were packing. Why'd you try to leave me behind?" Lector asked Sting angrily. Lucy crouched down and rubbed the Exceed's head.

"I think it's my fault," she said. "Sting thought this was more of a date thing, so he didn't want you to feel uncomfortable with us. I should have explained it to him before we left so you could come with us. I'm sorry."

"Ah, it's cool, Sunshine," Lector said nervously. He was still getting used to having Lucy around a lot. Lucy moved past him into the tent, and Lector went to sit with Sting where he was facing the cave entrance.

Lucy was awoken by a yell and the sounds of fighting coming from outside the tent. She reached for her keys as she cautiously looked through the tent opening. She growled as she saw Sting fighting with a pink-haired man. Lucy stepped out of the tent and sent her whip flying to wrap around her best friend's leg so she could pull his feet out from under him.

"Natsu, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked with a sigh as she crouched down beside him. He blinked up at her as if he were still trying to figure out just what had happened before suddenly leaping back to his feet.

"We followed you," Natsu said. He frowned. "Levy told us about the job you took. If that thing really is what we think it is, then you need us."

"Us?"

"Lucy!" A blue ball of fur collided with Lucy's face. She really should have expected this. Lucy had barely extricated Happy from her face before Erza came out of the trees wielding a large ax. Wendy stumbled out of the hole in the foliage behind her. Erza muttered angrily under her breath about the trees, and then she turned her attention to the others in the clearing.

"Lucy, I know that you and Sting make a very strong team, but for this you should have asked for our help," Erza said. "With Gray still missing…"

The blonde looked away at that. She blamed herself for Gray's sudden disappearance. He called into the guild by communication lacrima to let them know he was fine and to take jobs, but he hadn't actually returned to Magnolia after the meeting with Crime Sorciere.

"So much for a little alone time," Sting sighed. "Well, since you're here. You guys can keep watch while we get some sleep."

He pushed past Natsu and grabbed Lucy's hand to pull her into the tent with him. He settled back on the sleeping bag and dragged Lucy down to lie on his chest. Lector curled up on the opposite side from Lucy. Sting ran his fingers through his girlfriend's hair; it was a soothing motion for him, and he sorely needed that. He was ready to beat the shit out of her interfering team for once again showing up where they weren't wanted.

"It might be good that they're here," Lucy whispered. Sting's fingers stilled for a moment before resuming their trek through her hair. "You were worried about what we might find in there anyway."

"I know," Sting murmured. Lucy liked feeling the rumble of his voice through his chest when she was cuddled up to him like this. "Still wish they'd learn how to wait for an invitation."

Lucy giggled. She scooted further up so that her nose was pressed into his neck.

"Get some sleep, Nightlight. No telling what we'll be seeing in a few hours," Lucy whispered. Sting stayed awake for a bit longer so he could enjoy the feel of her next to him. He still wasn't used to this: actually being able to touch her, kiss her, talk to her. She was so much more amazing than he'd guessed in those early days when he found himself inexplicably drawn to her. Now he couldn't even imagine giving her up and running away as he had after the Rebirth incident. Sting finally fell asleep to the sound of Lucy's steady breathing.

* * *

As soon as Sting started struggling to consciousness, he knew something was wrong. He forced his eyes open against the blinding light above him and willed them to adjust quickly. Using light magic definitely gave him an edge in that regard. After a few seconds, he began to make out things around him, which only solidified his feeling of wrongness.

The tent was gone. Lucy and Lector had both vanished, as well. Actually, it might be more accurate to say that Sting had vanished from them because he wasn't even in the clearing by the cave anymore. The stone floor beneath him was perfectly smooth, but he was surrounded on all sides by roughly hewn walls. Three brilliant white crystals above produced the blinding light, but he wasn't sure if the light came from within them or if they were reflecting some outside source. Sting carefully picked himself up and began searching for a way out.

It was a small room, so it didn't take long to realize there were no obvious exits. Rogue or Lucy would have begun searching more carefully, but Sting's patience was shot. He tried to blast a hole through one of the walls with his magic, but the blast didn't even leave a scratch. He attempted the maneuver a few different times, and in different places on the walls, but with the same effect. Sting sank to his knees, breathing heavily. He'd put a lot of power behind the attacks, but it shouldn't be taking this large of a toll on him.

As he fully collapsed, Sting thought he heard a cold laugh drift through the room.

* * *

Lucy felt decidedly colder than she should when she woke up. Sting was gone from the tent, and Lector had curled in to her side seeking warmth. She gently wrapped him in the sleeping bag before stepping out of the tent. She froze in place at the sight of her team before her. All four of her friends were passed out on the ground. Wendy was curled up into a ball, her skin icy pale. Erza was in a similar position with icicles slowly melting from her armor and hair. Natsu had curved his body around Happy, and bruises covered his bare skin which was slowly regaining color as she stared.

Lucy had barely thought of Virgo before the maid appeared at her side.

"Blankets, Virgo! Hurry!" Lucy yelled as she sprang towards the smallest member of the team and began rubbing her arms and legs. Her fingers burned from the cold, but she kept rubbing vigorously, trying to promote some circulation and get some heat into the small girl. Virgo reappeared and handed her a blanket before quickly wrapping up the others and digging a fire pit at lightning speed. Lucy gently picked up Wendy and carried her to the roaring fire while Virgo moved the others.

"What happened, Princess?" Virgo asked.

"I wish I knew, Virgo," Lucy whispered. Cold dread settled in her gut as she dismissed the spirit. The mark of Sting's magic in her body hummed loudly. She wished there was something else she could do to help them.

Several minutes later, Wendy's eyes slowly fluttered open. The girl gasped before letting out a heart-piercing whimper. Lucy pulled Wendy onto her lap and slowly rocked the girl as she tried to soothe her. Natsu roused next as he drew some of the fire directly into his body through his mouth. He sat up with a start before immediately lying back down with a groan.

"Natsu, what happened?" Lucy asked.

The fire slayer sat up more slowly this time and pulled Happy into his chest with the blanket wrapped tightly around them both. He stared at the fire silently.

"Black eyes," Wendy whispered. "So cold." Another whimper escaped her before she fell back into silence.

"Black eyes?" Lucy prompted.

"It was Gray," Natsu said tonelessly. "But it wasn't. He reeked of dark magic. Like Edo-Rogue when we fought. I could practically taste it. His magic is different, too. More powerful. It's like he drained our magic as he froze our bodies."

"Sting?" Lucy asked unable to voice more of a question than that.

"I don't know," Natsu said as he shook his head. "Gray took out Wendy and Erza. I saw him head for the tent and Sting coming out before I blacked out, but that's all I know."

The dread in Lucy's stomach spread to freeze around her heart.

"I think we need back up on this one," Lucy murmured. Natsu sighed, but he nodded in agreement. Lucy gently sat Wendy back on the ground and went to find her communication lacrima. She just hoped that someone would be able to reach them in time for them to save Sting. She didn't think her heart could take losing him.

"Do you think that we are sufficient back up?" A voice asked from the trees. Lucy and Natsu both looked up to find Jellal and his guild. Meredy immediately rushed to Erza's side, though Lucy was pretty sure there wasn't anything else they could do for her right now.

"How do you guys do that?" Lucy asked. The independent guild's amazing timing was great, but seriously, how?

"We heard of a job request that had been sent to Fairy Tail to find a specific device. It's something we have been searching for, as well," Jellal said calmly. "Now, tell us, what has happened here?"

Lucy glanced at the cave entrance before sweeping her gaze over her wounded teammates. She sighed. It looked like they would have enough time for her to explain. She motioned for the members of Crime Sorciere to join them around the fire as she filled them in on what little she knew.


	39. Chapter 38: Vengeance is Mine

**A/N: Thanks for RRFF! This is nearly complete; it's very exciting for me :D**

* * *

Erza had come to around the middle of Lucy's storytelling, but she was still shivering violently. It was decided that she, Wendy, and Meredy would stay at the camp and only follow if necessary or if Meredy deemed the other two sufficiently recovered. Natsu had been snacking on the flames throughout the explanation, so he was back to feeling close to normal. Lucy knew they never would have convinced him to stay behind anyway, not with Lucy going into the caves and Gray being the one they were fighting. It was difficult enough keeping Erza seated next to the fire.

Only a few meters into the cave, they encountered a three-way split.

"I will accompany Lucy," Ryos said when it was decided they should pair off.

"Like hell," Natsu snarled. Lucy laid a restraining hand on his arm.

"I agree with Ryos. Natsu, go with Jellal. We need at least one person that Gray is close to in each group in case we run into him. That's you, me, and Ultear. Ryos and I can look after ourselves."

Natsu looked like he wanted to argue further, but Lucy gave him a shove towards Jellal before grabbing Ryos's wrist and dragging him down the right hand path. She slowed her pace as they gained some distance from the other four.

"You sensed it, too?" Ryos asked.

"Yes, he's here somewhere."

Sting's magic hummed through her body more loudly as they continued. The cave twisted and turned, but it didn't veer off anymore. They walked cautiously side-by-side until Ryos suddenly stiffened before grabbing Lucy's hand and practically dragging her down the tunnel. He stopped at a bit of wall that looked to Lucy like any other, but he was muttering to himself. Shadows emerged from his body to feel around the rocks. He closed his eyes as he concentrated.

"Wait here. I'll be right back," he said before slipping fully into shadow form and ghosting through the tiniest crack in the rock. Lucy fidgeted nervously and a few minutes later, the shadow reappeared only to form into two shapes. Lucy dodged forward to grab one side of Yukino while Ryos propped up the other.

"Thank you, Rogue. I mean, Ryos. You saved me again," Yukino said with a weak smile. The other two helped her to slowly sink to her knees.

"Yuki, how did you get here?" Lucy asked.

"We were on a mission just outside of Onibus when we were attacked. It happened so fast that I didn't even see who attacked us. I woke up in that room. There's some sort of crystals on the ceiling; they seemed to be draining my magic. I could barely even summon a spirit, let alone keep the gate open for more than a few seconds."

"There seems to be more going on here than just your friend Gray," Ryos said. "We should get Yuki back to the tent and then continue."

"No," Yukino said firmly. She struggled to her feet. "I have to find Rogue. I can feel my magic coming back now that I'm out of there. You aren't leaving me behind."

Ryos looked to Lucy for help, but the blonde merely rose to her feet with a nod to Yukino.

"They took Sting, too. I know I wouldn't be able to stay behind, so I won't try to make Yukino, either."

"Looks like the Celestial Sirens are back in action," Yukino said with a small smile. Lucy giggled and wrapped her arm around Yukino's.

"You bet. Come on, Ryos. We've got a couple of slayers to save."

* * *

Sting fought his way back to consciousness for the fourth time. Or was it the fifth? He couldn't be sure. Each time he woke up weaker than before. This time was no exception, but something else had changed. He woke up upright and unable to move. Heavy chains held his arms spread, and smooth stone pressed against his back. He struggled to lift his head to gaze around the large stone cavern. A groan to his left caught his attention, and he let his head loll back against the stone so he could look in that direction.

"Rogue," he whispered. His voice cracked, and he coughed violently. The still figure of his brother shifted slightly, but he seemed to be unconscious.

"Awake again?" A cold voice asked.

Sting shifted his eyes back to the center of the room where he recognized Gray coming into view. Gray walked up to stand just in front of Sting. The dragon slayer recognized the dead black eyes, and he wanted to groan in annoyance, but it came out as more of a pained sound. Gray smirked. Sting tried to glare at him.

"Are they ready?" Another voice came from the same direction where Gray had appeared. Sting stiffened as he recognized the woman's voice.

"Minerva," he hissed.

"Oh, my dear little slayer, remember what I taught you? You must address me as milady," Minerva said as she stepped up to him. She grabbed his chin roughly and nearly purred at the muffled groan the move elicited. "Did you miss me?"

He tried to work up enough saliva to spit at her, but his body wasn't cooperating. He settled for maintaining the glare he'd started with Gray. Minerva chuckled darkly before moving away to a pedestal in between the bound slayers where a black orb rested.

"It's a pity Gray didn't bring me the little blonde as I requested," Minerva said.

"She was unnecessary," Gray replied flatly.

"For now," Minerva said absently. "We can always take revenge on the little ball of sunlight later."

Sting's eyes widened at the mention of Sunshine. He still had the occasional nightmare about the day in the games when Minerva brutalized the woman he'd grown to love. His muscles tensed unconsciously against his chains, but it only served to put biting pressure on his wrists.

"Touch her, and I'll kill you," Sting managed to growl. Gray reached out and punched Sting in the cheek with a force that rocked his head backwards to crack against the stone. Minerva didn't even spare him a glance as she worked at focusing her magic around the orb on the pedestal. Sting struggled to hold on to his fading consciousness as black spots appeared in his vision. He lost the battle as he felt his limited magic slowly draining yet again.

* * *

Ryos stopped their slow creep down the stone hallway with a raised hand. Lucy stepped up beside him, and he bent to whisper in her ear.

"I feel a dark energy ahead," he said.

"And Sting?"

"His magic and the energy seem to be in the same area. We should be careful."

A dark chuckle drifted on the air to them, and Lucy stood. Her eyes narrowed. Without a word to the other two, she sprinted forward. Yukino and Ryos exchanged a worried glance before taking off after her. They stopped just behind Lucy at the entrance to a large cavern. Lucy's body trembled slightly as she took in the scene before her. Yukino gasped and started forward, but Ryos held her back.

"Minerva," Lucy snarled. The black-haired woman looked up from where she was working over a black orb. A feral smile crossed her lips.

"Ah, so Gray didn't have to bring you to me after all. The little fairy came willingly to her slaughter," Minerva said. "Gray, incapacitate them."

"Ryos, take care of Gray. Yuki, free the boys. I'll deal with Minerva," Lucy said quietly as the ice make mage started towards them. Ryos immediately intercepted the Fairy Tail wizard while Yukino ran along the edge of the room trying to avoid their fight and the former Sabertooth woman. Lucy uncoiled her whip with a snap. White crystals in the ceiling began glowing, and Lucy felt them pulling at her magic.

"Leo, Virgo," she summoned her two most loyal spirits. "I need you to destroy those crystals."

They nodded and set to work as Lucy headed for the former Sabertooth woman.

"Minerva, I believe I owe you a beating," Lucy said.

She stopped a few feet from the pedestal and snapped out her whip to grab the woman's wrists. Minerva dodged aside at the last moment. The tip of the whip came down to tap against the black orb; a jolt of magic power traveled down the whip to Lucy's hand. She recognized the dark taste of it, but the remnant of Sting's magic in her body leapt up to lash back at the foreign power.

"You really want to take me on again little girl?" Minerva asked.

"It's time to put you in your place," Lucy said as a dark smile crossed her face. "We'll have our own private little show. And please, remember to scream."


	40. Chapter 39: Fade Away

**A/N: Thanks to Noir Ship for continuing to review; you always say such wonderful things! I think I intended this story to be a romantic drama trip, but yeah, turns out I'm not so great at romance and apparently much better at action, which quite frankly surprised me.**

 **Thanks to everyone else who has been reading, following, and faving. Makes me :)**

* * *

Natsu sniffed the air and growled. He'd been doing this intermittently since they started down the middle passage, but this time, he stopped walking completely and punched the cave wall next to him.

"There's nothing here," he yelled. "Gray hasn't been anywhere near this passage. We need to go back."

"The device may have changed his scent," Jellal said.

"Yeah, it did," Natsu agreed. "But I smelled him at the camp, and the new scent isn't here, either. As far as I can tell, no one has been down this passage in decades."

Jellal regarded him silently for a moment before nodding and turning back the way they had come. Natsu merely watched him for a moment in surprise before running after him.

"Should we follow Ultear and Erik or Lucy and Ryos?" Jellal asked when the fire slayer caught up to him. Natsu didn't even have to think about his response.

"Lucy. She knew something. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now, I think she sensed Sting down that passageway. She chose it too quickly."

"Very well," Jellal said. He started running back to the entrance with Natsu close on his heels. A growing unease filled Natsu's chest. He sensed a great magic pressure building somewhere, but the caves were so twisted that he couldn't tell where it was coming from. He sent a silent plea to the universe that Lucy wasn't in over her head without him to watch her back.

They sprinted back to the cave fork and down the passage Lucy and Ryos had taken. Normally, Jellal would have urged caution, but he felt a distinctly Zeref-like energy growing with each passing moment. He didn't think they had time for caution now. He sent a mental call to Cobra, and he hoped that the poison slayer wasn't too far away to hear him.

Jellal came to an abrupt stop and nearly clothes-lined Natsu as he held out an arm to halt the dragon slayer, as well. A loud humming came from up ahead, along with the voice of a woman. Natsu stiffened before thrusting Jellal's arm out of the way and shooting forward. Jellal cursed as he sprang forward to follow.

* * *

Minerva realized very quickly that she was not fighting the same girl from the Grand Magic Games. The blonde looked the same, though she was wearing more clothing than in the Naval Battle. But the dark grin on her face had not been there before, and her attacks without her spirits were fiercer than they had been underwater. Lucy's whip snaked out to distract while the blonde closed in with a punch that landed squarely on Minerva's jaw. Minerva summoned her magic into her hands, but Lucy dodged her attacks easily while flicking her whip to pull Minerva's leg from under her.

A crack sounded from the ceiling, and Minerva realized she was about to lose a key component of her master plan as the blonde's spirits tried to destroy the crystals. A glance to the side showed Gray hard pressed to stave off the man who looked strangely like Rogue, and she heard Yukino struggling with the restraints on the dragon slayers. The crystals would slowly drain the magic from each of the other mages in the room, but Minerva knew she didn't have time for that to take its toll.

Rising back to her feet, Minerva glared at the blonde and focused all of her attention on her as she summoned her magic into her hands once again. She dodged another strike from Lucy's whip before sending a ball of magic energy at her. As predicted, Lucy leapt to the side, and the magic hit its real target: the orb on its pedestal.

A loud hum sounded through the room as crackling dark magic coalesced around the orb before spreading out and up the walls where it was met by a similar white energy emanating from the crystals. Lucy's eyes widened, and she flinched when Virgo screamed before disappearing. Loke let out a yelp before he hit the ground with a thud. He struggled to stay in the human world, but he was dragged away in a shower of gold light.

Lucy felt her magic draining away more rapidly than before, and she had to fight to keep her feet. Ryos kept up the fight with Gray, but she could see his movements getting slower. Yukino was already on her knees on the floor, though she kept trying to reach for the still unconscious Rogue. Minerva cackled in front of her.

"Did you really think you could defeat me, girl?" Minerva asked with a sneer. "You've improved since we last met, but you will never be a match for me. Now that I have control of the Reinforcement device no one will be able to rival my power."

Gray caught Ryos in a cage of ice, and the Edolas man was too drained to free himself. Gray strolled over to Minerva's side and stared at Lucy impassively. She met his black eyes, and she thought she caught a flicker of emotion there, but she knew it was a trick of the light. Lucy knew just how far the darkness of a device like this went; if Gray remembered her at all, which was unlikely, the dark energy clouding his mind and magic would twist the knowledge. She would find no help there.

"Even your allies can't help you now," Minerva said as she twined her arm with Gray's.

Lucy fell to her knees as her magic dwindled. She bent her head, and her shoulders began to shake. Minerva's smug smile widened until she heard the noise coming from the blonde.

"Why are you laughing?" Minerva snarled. Lucy looked up as tears gathered in her eyes from the force of her growing laughter.

"You didn't do your research," Lucy managed to say as her laughing died down to intermittent giggles.

"What?" Minerva barked.

"You're trying to bend the power of Reinforcement to your will, but you obviously know little about it," Lucy said before coughing violently.

"If that were true, I wouldn't have known that I needed the elemental magic of the dragon slayers to activate it," Minerva said dismissively.

"As I said, you know little. For instance, I bet you don't know why this device has been guarded by celestial mages for the past three hundred years." Lucy's breathing became labored, but she continued, "It's one of three sister devices. Each tied in some way to celestial magic. I've already destroyed Rebirth. And a celestial mage is the only one who can disable and destroy Reinforcement if it's been activated."

"Lies," Minerva said. "Your magic is being drained along with the others. Soon you will be an empty husk with your power going to feed the device and thus increase my own power when the spell is complete."

"Why do you think my spirits' attacks were able to damage part of the device?" Lucy wheezed as she sank fully to the floor. "But, you're half right. It will take my magic and most probably my life, but… it will also…"

Lucy's voice trailed off as she struggled to breath. Her chest felt constricted, and her eyes would no longer focus properly. She tried to get one more glimpse of Sting, and she thought she saw a white light growing around him, but she figured it was probably the magic depletion playing tricks on her. Just before she passed out, a ball of fire crossed her vision.


	41. Chapter 40: The End of Heartache

**A/N: Meant to post this earlier, but I got lost playing Pokemon. XD**

 **On y va**

* * *

Gray erected a black ice barrier a second before the ball of fire would have struck him and Minerva. He leapt on top of the ice wall and surveyed his new opponent; he vaguely recognized him from the campsite where he had found the white dragon slayer. One of the three who seemed to know him.

"Oi, Ice Princess," the pink-haired man said darkly. "What'd you do to Lucy?"

"Lucy?" Gray asked blankly. He glanced at the blonde lying unconscious on the cavern floor. He tilted his head as he tried to remember if he'd seen her somewhere before. He didn't think she'd been at the campsite, but then, he hadn't bothered to check inside the tent once he found the dragon slayer. He knew Minerva had wanted her, but he hadn't really seen the point when he knew she wasn't required to activate the device, so he hadn't bothered searching.

"Yeah, Lucy, our friend, our teammate," the other man growled.

"So we're friends then?" Gray asked.

"Yes, you moronic popsicle!" Natsu yelled before throwing a flaming fist at Gray.

The ice mage dodged aside while creating a mass of black ice lances to throw at his adversary. The room began to shake around them. Gray launched another attack at the fire slayer, but then his attention was captured by Minerva's scream. White light poured from the blond slayer, who was still chained to the wall as shadows surrounded the other one. A stream of gold dodged from the cavern entrance and tackled Minerva as the light reformed into a blue-haired man.

Gray was too distracted by the flurry of movement to dodge Natsu's fist. His body shot backwards and slammed into the cave wall. He quickly regained his feet, but Natsu was already on top of him with a flaming kick to his gut that sent Gray flying again. This time, he collided with the cage around his previous opponent. The ice shattered under the force of his fall as the formerly unconscious prisoner began to twitch slightly. Gray rose to his feet again, though he could feel his reaction time slowly significantly. He brought his hands together to send an ice attack at the man, now covered in flames, slowly stalking towards him.

"I may not have holy light to take the darkness out of you, but maybe I can beat some memories back into you," Natsu growled. He doubted that was actually a viable option, but it was the best he had at the moment. Unlike when he'd faced Dark Lucy, Natsu had no problem with beating Gray to a pulp, whether he was infected with darkness or not.

Natsu distantly heard a roar behind him, which was closely followed by a second, but he kept his attention on Gray. Natsu had never heard them before, but he knew those roars, and the sound made him grin at the increasingly bewildered ice mage in front of him.

* * *

Sting felt his magic returning in a rush that sent his holy light spinning around him uncontrolled. His instinct was to reel in the magic, but he wasn't even sure that he could, yet. He felt more than saw Rogue's magic beside him going equally haywire. Sting glanced around the room. He saw Natsu battling with Gray and Jellal struggling on the cavern floor with Minerva, but his eyes were drawn to the still form of Lucy. The light around him increased as Sting let out a roar. It was quickly followed by a roar from his brother.

The restraints on his wrists shattered, and he practically teleported to Lucy's side. He carefully turned her over, and the frantic rise and fall of her chest eased his mind that she was alive, but it also increased his worry that she might not stay that way long. He looked around for his brother and found Rogue in a similar position with Yukino. They shared a look before standing in unison and staring at the ceiling where giant cracks were forming in the crystals overhead.

"Only celestial magic can destroy them!" Jellal yelled at the twins.

Minerva used his momentary distraction to punch him in the face. The hit knocked him back enough for her to gain her feet and sprint towards the orb. Magic sparked off the object in erratic arcs. Jellal meteored to tackle her again so she couldn't touch the device and absorb its power.

"Celestial magic, huh?" Sting murmured. He stretched out his hand behind him with the palm open towards his brother. "Rogue."

As if reading his mind, Rogue reached out and held his palm up to mirror Sting. Both concentrated their magic as they began to merge the power in a ball between their open hands. The room shook more violently and further cracks appeared in the crystals. Sting focused his entire being into the power in his hand. The unison raid was a delicate spell and tricky to pull off, but they didn't have time to be cautious. They had to hurry. He could feel his tenuous link to Sunshine slipping like sunlight through his fingers. The power reached its peak, and the growing ball of white and black shrank to a pinpoint before expanding outward again in a blast of power as the twins flung it upward to the crystals.

Silence reigned in the cavern for a single moment before the percussive blast knocked everyone to the floor as shattered bits of crystal showered around them and a secondary blast of power radiated from the orb before it too cracked down the center. Minerva let out a piercing shriek of rage, but Jellal dealt one last blow to her head to knock her out.

Everyone who was still conscious slowly sat up and tried to look around the now black cavern. The only lights came from Natsu's flames around his hands where he stood over a prone Gray. Sting let his light seep out as well, but he held back when he saw two golden spots glowing in the darkness. He ran to one as Rogue sprinted to the other. Ultear and Cobra ran into the room at that moment, and neither seemed to know exactly where they should be going once they entered.

Sting didn't spare them much thought, though as he gently picked up Sunshine. Her breathing had evened out, and he sighed in relief.

"How did you do it?" Jellal asked. Sting could just make him out from the dim glow of the girls and his own white light. It took him a moment longer than it should have to understand what the man meant.

"You said only celestial magic could destroy it," Sting said with a shrug. "Rogue and I don't have celestial magic; not really. But what we do have are unbreakable links to two celestial spirit mages. They carry trace amounts of our magic, and we carry trace amounts of theirs."

"That's why the device didn't kill me immediately," Lucy whispered. Sting hadn't noticed her waking up in his arms as he explained the theory to Jellal. He crushed her to his chest until she gasped, "Can't breathe!"

"You knew," he said angrily. He fought both the urge to shake her and the urge to kiss her senseless. "You knew how the device could be destroyed. And you knew it would kill you."

"It was a theory," Lucy said. Her voice was slightly hoarse. "It's why the mages who guarded the device never just destroyed it themselves. For someone with only celestial spirit magic, trying would almost certainly have been a death sentence."

"As much as I would love to continue this fascinating recap, can we do it somewhere that isn't pitch fucking black other than the nightlights and the human torch?" Cobra said from the entrance.

A short time later, Minerva lay still unconscious on the ground under the watchful eyes of Jellal and Cobra back at the dismantled campsite. Natsu and Ultear stood to either side of Gray as he knelt by the fire pit; he had just come to when they reached the others. He seemed to be back to normal. Minerva's spell to control him had been linked to the darkness of the device, which made it both slightly iffy on the "control" aspect and instantly null when the device was destroyed.

While Sting and Rogue were being checked over by Wendy, Lucy went to check on Gray. She walked over to the trio, and Natsu and Ultear backed away. Gray looked up at her for a moment before turning back to stare at the ground. Lucy wasn't sure what she could possibly say to him. 'Hey don't worry, I've done stupid shit, too when influenced by the taint of Zeref?' 'Sorry my breaking your heart made you more susceptible to Minerva's machinations?' Before she could settle on where to begin, Gray spoke so quietly that Lucy had to bend down to hear him.

"You were right, Lucy," Gray whispered. "I sulked for a good week, but I had begun to accept what you said when Minerva found me on a job outside of Crocus. But then, the magic of the device twisted all of my perceptions around and brought back all of the things I'd been coming to terms with. Eventually it wiped my memories of you completely, and I have to admit, I welcomed the oblivion."

He bent his head, and his fingers gripped the dirt beneath him.

"I'm so sorry, Lucy," he whispered. "I'm so sorry I was too weak to fight it."

Lucy knelt down in front of him and placed her hands over his.

"Do you think I was weak for not being able to fight off the darkness that Ryos introduced into my magic?" Lucy asked. Gray shook his head. "Then why would you think that you are weak for succumbing to the same thing? Face it, Gray, the taint of Zeref is stronger than anything else we've encountered. These devices… They're evil. That's it. This isn't your fault. I'm just happy to have my friend back."

Gray finally looked up at her. She thought the pain and self-loathing in his eyes had lessened, at least a bit. She knew it would take time for it to fully go away. She'd had a lot of that to deal with after the Rebirth incident, too. Lucy stood up and offered him a hand. After a few seconds of indecision, he took it and pulled her into a hug as soon as he gained his feet.

"Thank you, Lucy," he whispered into her hair before releasing her.

"We should get moving. I still need to talk to the client to explain everything that's happened, and little miss kitty cat there needs to be handed over to the Rune Knights," Lucy said.

She offered him one of her brilliant smiles before turning away. She skipped over to Sting who threw an arm around her shoulders. Gray expected to feel some pain at the sight, but he was really just happy that his friend had found someone who could love and accept her the way that Sting obviously did. Lucy glanced back at him and jerked her head forward to indicate that he should get moving, too.

"We'll go with you to the edge of Onibus to be sure that Minerva remains incapacitated," Jellal said.

"We appreciate it," Erza replied. She started to heft Minerva over her shoulder, but Jellal beat her to it, so she settled for walking beside him as best as she could through the thick underbrush.

Gray had just started forward when Meredy threw an arm around his waist and fell into step with him. He looked down at her before hesitantly draping his arm around her shoulders. She smiled at him softly and began chatting animatedly about their mutual friends.

Lucy kept stealing glances over her shoulder and giggling until Sting finally broke down and asked what the hell was so funny.

"Oh, I just like watching young love blossom," Lucy snickered. Sting glanced back and caught her meaning.

"As long as it keeps him from trying to steal you from me, I'm happy," Sting said.

"Nobody's stealing me," Lucy pouted. Sting stopped walking long enough to plant a searing kiss on her lips.

He smiled at her slightly dazed expression when he pulled back to murmur, "Damn straight."

* * *

Lucy sat across from Amelia in the study with Sting at her side as at their previous meeting. The woman looked composed as she sat in another green gown with her hands folded in her lap, but Lucy noted the tension in her hands.

"Were you able to retrieve the device?" Amelia asked after a moment of settling themselves.

"I'm afraid not," Lucy said. "We were forced to destroy it."

Amelia regarded her with horror; her mouth fell open and her eyes widened as they darted up and down, taking in Lucy's largely unharmed frame.

"But how?"

"How did I survive?" Lucy asked with a small smile. She felt Sting's sharp glance at her, but she ignored him. "I have a slight edge over most celestial mages. The real question is, how did you expect to survive destroying it."

Amelia looked down at her hands and began clasping and unclasping them. She took a large breath before looking back up at the Fairy Tail mages.

"I didn't expect to," she whispered. "That's why I planned to leave you my keys. I wanted them to have a home to go to when the device killed me."

"So you lied about not having magic?" Sting asked angrily.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I couldn't go to the device on my own. I'm not a combat wizard. Only one of my spirits has any sort of fighting skills, and if he were unable to protect me, I would be defenseless. I needed someone who could fight if necessary to bring the orb to me so that I could do what my ancestors should have done instead of hiding it away. I never meant for you to risk its destruction. I didn't mean for you to—"

Amelia dropped her head into her hands as her shoulders began shaking. Lucy rose and went to kneel on the floor in front of the woman.

"The person who found Reinforcement before us didn't really give me an option," Lucy said quietly. "And as you can see, I'm just fine. But how could you think of sacrificing yourself to destroy it? What about your spirits? I'm sure they love you and would be devastated to lose you like that."

"They would be the only ones," Amelia said as her sobs quieted. "I have no other family. I just have this house and my spirits."

"Those spirits are your family. It's obvious that you care about them or you wouldn't have tried to protect them by finding them a new home," Lucy said. She grabbed Amelia's hands and held them between her own. She smiled softly before reaching to the table next to Amelia's seat and picking up a ring of keys. She placed them gently in the older woman's hands.

"Your spirits need you. And besides that, the world has too few celestial wizards already. We have to stick together. Perhaps a guild isn't the place for you, but know that there are two celestial wizards at Fairy Tail who can always use another friend who shares our magic and love for our spirits."

Amelia gripped her key ring tightly as fresh tears flowed down her cheeks, but she smiled. Lucy knew her spirits were probably communicating with her now.

"Thank you, Lucy," Amelia whispered. "Your reputation as a fantastic celestial wizard is well-earned."

They stayed with Amelia for a while longer before heading to the inn where the rest of their guildmates were waiting. Sting intertwined his fingers with Lucy's and swung their hands lightly between them. He kept glancing at her from the corner of his eye. Seeing her smile beside him and feeling her fingers wrapped around his made his heart race a little. He stopped suddenly and dragged her into a nearby alley before pushing her up against the wall. Lucy smiled up at him, and he smirked. He bent down to nuzzle at her neck before moving up to nip at her ear.

"Don't scare me like that again," he whispered. She shivered at his warm breath on her ear and a small sigh escaped her.

"I can't make a promise that I'm not sure I can keep," she replied as her hands skimmed over his chest before wrapping around the back of his neck. "I'm sorry I worried you, Nightlight."

Sting's hands lightly ran up and down her side as he pulled back to gaze down at her.

"Once we get back to Magnolia, I'm invoking the 24 hours that you forfeited. We will lock down your apartment like we're preparing for an invasion, so none of your weird friends can get in."

"You mean our weird friends," Lucy interrupted with a giggle.

"Yours, ours, same thing basically. But don't interrupt." He nipped the tip of her nose which elicited another giggle. "Once we're safely away from them all, I don't care what we do. We can watch movies naked all day. Or stay in bed naked all day. Or bake cookies naked. Or—"

"So there's a lot of nudity in our future then?" Lucy laughed.

"Is that a problem, Sunshine?"

"Not at all. Actually, I'm really liking the sound of this 24 hour plan of yours. Much better than my idea to take a dangerous mission that ended up not even having a reward."

Sting leaned down to claim her lips, not drawing back until he felt lightheaded. He leaned his forehead against hers so that he could gaze into her brown eyes for a moment before pulling her back out of the alley and towards the inn.

"Let's go home, Sunshine."

* * *

 **A/N: And so our journey comes to an end. I really hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Thanks to Noir Ship in particular for the continued support almost from the very beginning. And thanks to everyone else who has given input or just dropped a note to say thanks, and of course, thank you for following, favoriting, and reading in general.**

 **If you like my writing, you can check out my author page and follow me there. I may do another Sticy or an actual Graylu in the future, but currently CoLu is my jam, so if you're into that crack ship, check out the story that I already have and be on the look out for the next one coming in June.**

 **Thanks again, tout le monde!**

 **:D**


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